Angst and Bonding
by Prophe-Cass
Summary: Pidge has some…very unusual dealings with angst, some of which permanently scar her, physically and mentally. However, some of them lead to her bonding more closely to her lion, and with her friends. Mentions of Blood. Time line is pretty random, but there's mild Shidge in most chapters!
1. Quick Thinking

The Kill'een had recently been liberated from the Galra by Voltron, extending a hand of friendship to them in form of a party.

Allura, pushy as ever, decided that it would be suitable for them to attend. She saw to it personally that they followed the Kill'een tradition to the letter, including the rule dividing females from males.

As it is well known, men tend to be the strongest, fastest, and generally the best at nearly everything when it comes to military. In this culture, however, it was disgraceful for a woman to even touch a weapon.

But, ironically, it was fine for a woman to fly a Lion of Voltron. Or so they said.

Pidge, as one can imagine, exploded when she heard that the other Paladins could bring weapons. Apparently, males had to, at all times, carry a weapon. Even Coran brought along a dagger. But not her.

No, while the others had their Bayards buckled onto their belts, she was forced to leave her spade behind. Understandably, this made Pidge furious.

"Now, Pidge," Allura had scoffed. "You don't want to disrespect our new comrades, do you? Now, hold still so I can adjust your hem."

Yes, that's what Pidge was wearing. A dress. Yes, it was just a short skirt, so that it easy to walk around. But, still. A dress? And no weapon? Who did they think she was…a child who couldn't fend for herself?

Pidge fidgeted uneasily as Allura straightened out the skirt, pulling it so that it stopped at her knees. Then the princess readjusted it so that it stayed at knee length.

Later, upon meeting up with the other Paladins, who looked every bit as uncomfortable as Pidge did, the two females put aside their Bayards.

"Who dressed the Pigeon?" Lance joked, punching Pidge lightly as he grinned foolishly.

"Hah, hah. Allura did." Pidge's response was laced with sarcasm, but the Blue Paladin hardly noticed. "Seriously, will they even check me to make sure I leave my Bayard behind? Please can I bring it?"

"Pidge," Shiro chided, his eyes narrowing. "you know that's not acceptable."

"Allura wasn't able to train with a staff until Zarkon attacked." Coran reflected, making an attempt to cheer Pidge.

"Boys," Allura calmly brought everyone's attention back to her. "talking won't fix anything. Pidge, just accept that your Bayard won't be present for this one simple ceremony!"

Pidge bit her lip and sent a frosty glare at Hunk as the yellow oaf attempted to calm her by resting a hand on her shoulder briefly.

The seven Voltron force members stepped from the castle's pod as it landed, and they were greeted by several Kill'een.

The Kill'een people were built strongly, their shoulders broad. Despite this, they still ended up being only Pidge's height. In fact, the Green Paladin stood an inch above the tallest. It felt good not to be the shrimp.

Lance sent her a humored glance, which she returned when the Kill'een weren't looking.

Later on, at the party, the Paladins managed to stay together as they talked with poliitics. Pidge ended up speaking with a Kill'een half a head taller then she.

After a few moments of exchanging friendly words, the Kill'een eyed one of her dresses pockets.

"What's in there?" He questioned suspiciously, noticing the slight bulge.

Pidge presented a small tablet, built for storing information on. "This. I bring it with me everywhere. Just in case."

The Kill'een eyed it suspiciously. "Is it a weapon?"

"What? No." Pidge blinked, taken aback.

"Hmm." The Kill'een nodded, but didn't speak to her after that. Instead, he turned to talk with Shiro.

Pidge stood there awkwardly until a Kill'een barked out something in their native language.

Within seconds guns were aimed from all around, pointing at the Paladins.

All the Voltron force members exchanged glances of surprise, and all came to the same conclusion. The Kill'een must have a truce with the Galra.

It took Pidge a split second to realize that none of the guns were aimed at her. Only at the males and Allura. Probably because they were all bigger then them.

"Hands up!" Barked a Kill'een, and they obeyed.

Pidge realized nobody was even looking at her either. Hah! She kept her hands down, searching for a way to escape. She could tell the others were too. Their eyes were darting around, Lance daring to lay hand to his Bayard.

Instantly several shots rang out and the Red Paladin collapsed, his gaze alarmed and full of pain.

As one movement the Paladins all took a step towards their friend, but the blasters pointed at them halted their tracks.

This distraction had given Pidge the opportunity to take a half step closer to Shiro.

She could see her leaders gears turning as he watched her out of the corner of his eye, trying to find out what in the world she was doing.

A low growl filled the air, indicating that the Red Lion was gaining on the ballroom.

In a few quick steps, a Kill'een had stationed himself at Lance's head, threatening to kill the Paladin if the Lion approached any more.

The Lion must've sensed the distress of the Paladins, because he halted, hovering. Silence fell over them again.

Pidge took another half step towards Shiro, who purposely avoided looking at her. She was doing something, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

Then, in a beat of an eye, she clutched his Bayard, pulled it off, and it sparked to life, taking the form of the expandable sword.

It was interesting to see Pidge clutching the Black Bayard; perhaps the Bayard activated for her because the Black Lion sensed the plight the Paladins were in. Perhaps, in that moment, Pidge was acting like a Black Paladin. Or, maybe, the Bayard responded to anyone.

But here she was, holding it as the tip released and smacked the Kill'een that stood over Lance in the face.

When the alien went flying across the room, the roof broke open and the Red Lion landed on top of several Kill'een, crushing them upon impact.

But the Kill'een weren't finished yet. They aimed at the trouble maker, and fired another round of shots, each one hitting their target precisely.

Pidge barreled over, fading in and out of consciousness as the battle progressed. She was aware of Shiro prying the Bayard from her fingers, and she recalled the sounds of shots going above her head. She also remembered the thundering roar that Green brought with her.

Finally she remembered several people leaning over her. They were all her friends, even Lance, who still looked dazed from the shots he had taken. He looked like the only way he was standing was because of Coran, who acted as a support.

"You okay?" Hunk asked, studying her. She thought that he was holding her, but he wasn't sure.

Pidge nodded, lying. She felt like she had hundreds of holes in her.

"Took more hits then I did." Lance grimaced. His voice still sounded off.

"Yeah." Hunk nodded in agreement. "How'd you get the Bayard to activate?!"

Pidge shrugged.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lance asked, frowning at her in concern.

Another lying nod.

"Well, next time we're bringing weapons, no matter the culture." Allura decided, crossing her arms bitterly.

"Be glad I had an extra dagger." Coran reminded his princess affectionately, shifting Lance's weight slightly.

"Of course." Allura laughed, and the two Alteans turned their attention back to Pidge.

"You don't look okay." Shiro's voice sounded from somewhere to her left, but she couldn't see him. His voice was angled, and Pidge could tell he wasn't facing her.

"Get some rest." Hunk crooned, picking her up fully so that she hovered several feet above the ground. "You deserve it."

"Your quick thinking did give us the chance to win the battle." Allura grinned, petting Pidge's hair.

"Yeah." Lance's voice came out choked. "You did save me."

"Never take my Bayard again." Shiro growled, still facing the opposite direction.

"Shiro, don't be rude." Allura glared, and resumed with untangling Pidge's locks.

Coran beamed down at Pidge in pride, but Pidge didn't have the strength to respond. Instead, she faded off to black.


	2. Torture Part 1 Shiro

The footsteps echoed down the halls, but quietly. They came quickly, and were gentle. If one were to listen for a brief moment, it would be easy to believe that the person was nearly floating.

Once in a while someone would walk past the sound, and it froze, staying hidden in the shadows.

Finally, the trespasser heard the sound he had been DYING to hear.

The noise was static. Sometimes different sounds were thrown in, some voices, some screams, some announcements.

The man tilted his head to listen, and finally sobs reached his ears. It was an ordinary set of collective whimpers, but to him it was special.

He stepped out of the shadows, the purple light from a logo printed on the wall shining on his face. He blinked and peered into the room which housed the sounds.

An array of screens decorate the walls, and a purple aliens sat slumped in a chair, his eyes closed and a tired frown plastered on his face.

The man dusted his ivory bangs from his face and searched the wall, determination on his face. Finally, he found the screen that matched the sobs.

A young girl, only fifteen, sat in a glass container, and a steady stream of water flowed from a pipe behind her, filling the glass box at an even pace. Below the screen, in tiny scribbles that the man could barely make out the letters ROOM X-YY-FGI.

He took a few steps back and pressed on a helmet, glancing around nervously.

"This is Shiro. I know which room Pidge's in. Allura, can you send me the directions to the room X-YY-FG…" he trailed off and glanced in the room again. "…I?" He finished.

"Of course." The woman on the opposite side of the coms replied, and the sound of a few buttons being pressed filled the headset.

Finally a map appeared on Shiro's visor, pointing him to the left.

"Thanks." He hissed and received a "anytime," before the woman fell silent, and the coms turned off.

He followed the trail his helmet told him to go on and soon arrived at a closed door.

He placed his metal hand on a scanner, momentarily impressed by its technology to scan his hand through his armor, and the door opened.

A few guards stood in front of the container, talking with each other in excited tones.

"Gee, she was fun while she lasted." One Galra trooper reflected, watching the tank as it filled up.

"Uh-huh." His companion agreed.

Pidge was chained up, her wrists attached to the floor beneath her, forcing her to stay bent over on her knees. The water flowed up to her shoulders, and was beginning to stretch for her neck.

Shiro activated his hand, making it glow with its sinister purple theme. His enemies, the guards, paused when they felt the heat radiate from his palm.

"Hey, what's-" one began, but, was promptly interrupted as Shiro balled his hand into a fist and batted him across the room. The other pulled out his gun, but received the same treatment as the opposite guard.

Shiro turned his attention to Pidge, who was watching him hopefully, the water up to her nose. She tilted her head up to give herself more time.

Shiro ran to the control panel, pressing his hand to it. Upon impact a mechanic voice warned him that it was on a time lock. The container couldn't be opened.

Shiro glanced back over to Pidge, the fear had returned to her eyes, the water already beginning to ripple over her head.

Shiro began to feel afraid. "Pidge!" He whispered, trying to think up a plan.

Pidge's eyes were closed, but the worry was written on her expression as slowly bubbles began to escape her lips.

Shiro activated his hand and plunged it into the container. He extracted it, and water began to pump through the hole. Shiro did the same technique several times, each time watching as Pidge seemingly got farther and farther from his reach. Slipping into the coma known as death.

Finally the glass gave away, shattering as water flew around Shiro's feet. He reached down and cut off the shackles on Pidge's arms. She was unconscious by the time Shiro wrapped his arms around her, but he could feel the fear that pulsed from her skin.

Her ribs shown through the prisoner cloths that they had forced her into. Now that he was up close, he could clearly see the wounds that decorated her body.

He pumped her chest gently, and she spluttered up water, but she still didn't wake up.

Something nagged Shiro's mind, telling him that she wasn't awake due to injuries or water in her lungs. No, she was out because of exhaustion.

Shiro stood up, her small head resting on his chest. Then, as quickly as he could, he left the room.

* * *

"How is she alive…?" Allura murmured, half to herself as she studied the screen in front of her.

Hunk turned to face the princess, worry in his gaze. "What do you mean by that?!" He asked, tilting his head.

"Well, for starters, her lungs are swollen." Allura began, glancing over at Lance as he looked over her shoulder.

"What does that indigo mean?" Asked the Blue Paladin, pointing at the screen.

"Those are wounds." Allura replied, and Lance whistled. "It looks like she had been injured with a knife during her imprisonment." She looked up at Keith, who responded with an even glare. "I think. But you're more of the expert on this sort of thing."

Coran popped up on Allura's opposite side, fiddling with his mustache as he looked at Pidge, who now resided in a healing pod.

Shiro was standing off to the side, watching her carefully, like he wouldn't ever look away until he was sure she was okay. He probably wouldn't. He had an unusual gift to stand in the same spot for amazing amounts of time. Sometimes it took him days to get frustrated, sometimes mere hours.

As it went, everyone wandered in and out of the room during the next two days, getting bored or just plain tired. Even Shiro agreed to taking shifts while they waited, but insisted on being the paladin with the biggest shift.

As it was, however, Lance was the Paladin on duty when the pod opened unexpectedly.

Pidge collapsed as soon as the barrier that "held" her up disappeared.

"Ow." She groaned as Lance helped her stand. "Am I back at the castle?"

Lance laughed, messing up her hair. "Yeah. Just came out of a pod. You hungry?"

"Famished!" Pidge agreed, sounding enthusiastic but weak all the same. "What did Hunk make today?"

"Well, for dinner earlier he made enchiladas. Pretty sure there's leftovers." Lance responded, before adding as an after thought, "it's ten o'clock. Shiro was gonna take over for me soon."

"Oh." Pidge was silent for a moment before continuing. "So…what happened while I was…you know…captured?"

"We spent, like, the entire time trying to figure out how to attack the battle ship that you were on."

"You knew where I was the whole time?!" Pidge blinked, baffled.

"Hmm…yeah. The ship was just sitting there; but we had to think of a good plan." Lance nodded in confirmation, and he grinned sheepishly at her. "Hey, do you want me to wake everyone up to tell them you're awake?"

"Well, Keith'll murder you if you don't." Pidge joked, grinning up at him.

"He'd kill Lance anyway." Shiro spoke, suddenly walking up to them. "How you feeling?"

"Uh…a little hungry. Tired. Thirsty." Pidge frowned, before recollecting memories of Shiro rescuing her. "And thanks for…you know."

Shiro nodded grimly. "Lance," he said, turning to the boy. "Do you want some sleep?"

"Yeah…but I'd like to tell the other Paladins that Pidge's awake. They've been as anxious as us. Except Keith."

Shiro blinked sarcastically at Pidge, rolling his eyes.

Lance turned away to turn on the com system, and Pidge leaned against Shiro.

"Thanks." She murmured, before closing her eyes. Shiro wrapped his arm around her and felt a flicker of hatred for the Galra who treated her so poorly.

If he got his hands on them…well, Pidge was safe, and that was all that mattered. Right?


	3. Torture Part 2 Pidge

"Let me out!" Pidge screamed, battering her hands on the wall. Anger was in her expression, she clearly wanted OUT of this prison.

This…Galra ship.

How could Keith just leave her? He had suddenly, in their struggle, tore away from the sentries and dove for a hallway, screaming at the top of his lungs. The sentries had pounded after him, but the one flesh-n-blood trooper had pinned Pidge down. Next thing she knew, here she was.

That had been over two quintents ago, and pounding insanely wasn't working.

Pidge, even though she was the most stubborn person she knew, eventually gave up, hanging her head and slumping her shoulders as she leaned against the wall.

Her fingers curled when they felt the smooth, metal surface beneath.

She was famished, exhausted, and thirsty, too. Those were the three main things denied her. Food, water, and sleep.

She slowly felt her body creep down the wall, only stopping when she was in a sitting position, her knees drawn to her chest.

Almost as soon as she admitted defeat, two guards walked in, grabbing her arms. She didn't have the strength or raw determination to try to twist out of their cold, metal grasp. Her back feet dragged on the ground, and her locks hung down around her face.

But, although she had admitted that she couldn't escape, at least, not by herself, she was still angry, refusing to stand when they gave the command.

The sentries dropped her, and her face was met with the ground. Every muscle in her body tensed, but she didn't get up.

Finally something struck her. If felt like someone had drove a knife into her back.

That's when Pidge yielded to their orders, standing, with some effort, and let her eyes follow their fingers.

A rubber like substance made a her-sized-but-just-slightly-bigger mold. They shoved her into it and slammed the hatch that enclosed her in it behind her.

Her head was shoved into a mask, that suctioned her lips so that she was forced to stay attached to it. That's when she heard the pump begin.

Air was pressed into the mask, forcing her to swallow, but she couldn't breathe out. She could feel her lungs begin to swell, expanding until she thought they would explode. By the time it stopped, Pidge began to feel dizzy. She breathed out in relief, thankful that if was over.

That's when the pumping began again. Pidge wondered if this is what balloons felt like. The pumping stopped as suddenly as it began, and Pidge sighed. How long would this continue?

"Tell us about Voltron." A voice ordered. The speaker was Galra, his voice clear and slightly annoyed.

Pidge bit her tongue, refusing to speak.

"Who are you to the team, Green Paladin? Where is your outpost?" Each of the commander's questions were met with silence. "I know you can talk. We haven't gotten to that stage yet." A small gasp greeted him, and he smiled wickedly to himself. "Begin the process again."

This pumping lasted longer then both of the prior attempts, and Pidge began to feel afraid. Really, really afraid. None of her attempts helped her stop breathing. If she closed her mouth, she was forced to inhale. If she concentrated on not breathing, her lungs screamed at her to exhale. And she tried to obey them, but instead she inhaled more. And more.

"When are the Paladins planning on attacking Emperor Zarkon? Where did the Red Paladin go after distracting the sentries?" The Galra didn't stop asking questions as her lungs filled with air, which was pretty stupid, seeing as she couldn't answer him. The pump hesitated again, and Pidge breathed out as much as she could, knowing the process would begin again. But really, she wasn't thinking about the inevitable torture.

"Keith distracted the sentries so that I might have had time to escape." Pidge thought, smiling to herself. "Of course he did. How could I have been so foolish?"

The pumping began just as Pidge finished her thoughts, and she reminded herself that Keith had probably escaped. And that meant he was coming back for her. She just had to wait.

"Enough! This obviously isn't working." The Galra commander growled, flinging open the hatch. "Turn off the suction."

As soon as the mask was removed, Pidge began to breathe more easily, thankful for this break.

The two sentries that had escorted her to the room led her over to another torture device. Pidge couldn't tell what it was; there were four shackles to the wall and that was it. No lines on the wall to mark where the wall would open up and stretch her limbs, no control panel to operate when she got electrocuted. It looked pretty harmless.

The sentries used the chains to attach her to the wall. She wasn't even upside-down! What was this, a boredom mechanism?

After a few minutes, she saw just what this was for.

A few soldiers came in, each holding two daggers or a gun.

The first one, a blade flinger, hit its mark. The knife tore through skin and bones, ripping past her muscles, and finally dug into the metal of the wall. The knife was stuck in her palm.

Pidge felt a scream rip itself from her throat, tears beginning to build on her face.

Then a laser caught her in the shoulder. It simply destroyed the loose fabric that guarded her arm socket, burned her flesh, making her flesh look black. Sweat tickled Pidge's neck as she began to thrash, screaming in agony as another blade pierced her other palm.

The torture continued, and each hit left Pidge screaming, and every time they grazed her caused her to sob.

She just had to wait. Her team would find her…Right?

The sentries returned after each soldier had gone twice, and took her off of the target whatchamacallit. They pulled off the knives and tossed them back to their owners, who caught the blade with one hand each.

They brought her over to the rubber suit again and she instantly felt terrified again.

"Try this again!" The commander growled, studying her worn out face.

Pidge could feel her sticky blood drip out of her wounds, already beginning to dry. She wondered how much longer she would last as the pumping filled up her lungs, lasting double the time it had originally taken.

"Well? Are you ready to talk?" The Galra asked, roughly increasing the pumping pressure.

Pidge wanted more then anything to scream again, but she couldn't exhale. She was stuck, feeling her lungs expand.

Finally she was released again, but no one grabbed her to force her to another device. Instead, the Galra commander spoke in a low tone to a few guards, who nodded excessively.

The guards told the sentries something in a low tone, and the sentries picked up Pidge again. Their hands twisted while they held her, a Galra equivalent of an Indian burn.

They traveled down several halls before the shoved her into a container which, like the target, looked harmless. They chained her wrists so that they were shackled to the ground, and they slammed the door shut, starting a time lock. Thirty minutes.

Water splashed onto Pidge's head, trickling off her shoulders and forming a puddle on the ground.

Pidge, in confusion, turned her face up to look where the consistent spray was coming from, and got a mouthful of water instead.

Pidge realized just what they planned to do. They wanted to drown her! And this time, they couldn't stop the torture if she finally gave in to their questions.

She dissolved into sobs, her tears and blood mixing with the water. She knew she couldn't escape, even if she tried with all her might. She was exhausted, and hungry. She supposed she could drink this…whatever it was. It was either water or a water-like substance.

But she wouldn't drink it. What if it were prisoner waste? The thought made her gag and she immediately resisted drinking.

The water reached her shoulders after about ten minutes, and she felt afraid. What if her friends didn't arrive on time?

Then she heard a cry of alarm, and raised her head.

Shiro was in front of her imprisonment, hitting the guards across the room. He turned to look at her, but he wasn't concentrating on her, but on the water that reached her nose.

Pidge turned up her head, as if telling him that she could last a little longer.

He tried placing his hand on the control panel, but it denied him, telling him it was on a time lock. The water was above Pidge's head so she closed her eyes, praying to God that he would find a way to help her.

After a moment, she heard Shiro whisper something, but the water and glass jumbled it.

She felt air come out of her lips, rising like bubbles towards the top of the container, away from her. Out of her reach. There was no more air left for her body to hold, no more certainty that Shiro would save her, no more-

Pidge's world turned black just as she heard something shatter part of the glass, plunging into the water.

God had answered her prayer.


	4. The Wolf

The Arusians had a problem. Granted, they ALWAYS had a problem such as feuds with other villages, or a small rock slide. Allura never even considered coming to the aid of these…unworthy complaints. But this was different. Really, really different.

Allura actually opened up a wormhole with no hesitation when the distress signal came. Well, she did tell the Paladins first. But still.

"What's the Arusians' problem?" Lance asked for the third time in as many minutes.

Everyone collectively groaned for the third time in as many minutes.

"Don't you remember, Lance? We tales about this at length." Coran sighed, rolling his eyes. It was a skill he had learned from Keith.

"Yeah," Lance responded, obviously lying. "But go ahead and remind me."

Shiro broke in, looking bothered by the comic relief's ignorance. "It's a wolf-like creature who keeps on attacking or killing the people of Arus."

"Oh." Lance frowned for a long moment. "You could've mentioned that earlier."

"We did. Twice." Keith grumbled, holding up the proper amount of fingers.

"Whatever, Mullet." Hunk impersonated Lance, mastering the way his eyebrows raised and his mouth curved down dangerously.

The Paladins, save Lance and add Coran, all laughed and finished strapping on the last of their armor.

They were forced to leave their Lions behind, for risk of harming the forest.

They left the castle, were pointed in the proper direction by Klyzap, and were soon deep in the forest.

Lance and Hunk soon forgot about the hunt and began to talk together, arguing about which trees would be best to put forts in.

Pidge and Keith exchanged glances, rolling their eyes.

Keith took a few brisk steps to catch up to Shiro, leaving Pidge in the center of the group.

A shadow was underneath a tree, where there wasn't supposed to be a shadow, alerting Pidge's senses. She veered off the path to get a closer look, and was gone.

The Paladins didn't notice for another two minutes, however, when Keith glanced over his shoulder to see how Lance and Hunk were holding up. His gaze would normally pass over Pidge, but he had always noticed the top of her hair, but there was no light brown fuzz to catch his eye.

He paused, looking around the group more carefully.

Shiro shot him a curious look, and, noticing his hesitation, stopped too.

"Where's Pidge?" Keith asked, drawing Lance and Hunk's attention. Lance and Hunk looked over their shoulders, as if the Paladin was standing behind them.

"Uh…where IS Pidge?" Lance echoed, and a cry of alarm a few hundred meters behind them answered his question. "Oh, duh! She's back there! It makes perfect…wait a minute, hold up!"

The other Paladins had pushed past him, retracing their steps in a rush, glancing at every crevice they passed.

Shiro froze suddenly, tilting his head as if listening. The others followed his example, failing to hear anything. Shiro, however, heard a crunch of leaves, snapping of twigs, and a yelp another fifty meters away.

He pivoted for the second time in a minute, rushing into the undergrowth.

The Paladins perked up at his frantic rush, starting after him.

Eventually they found the source.

Pidge was wrestling with a wolf.

Well, wrestling was a bit of a stretch. If it was wrestling, Pidge would be pinned.

Claw marks adorned her face; she didn't even look over at the Paladins when they entered the clearing, she was too busy trying to get the wolf off her.

A kick from Hunk sent the mammal flying, and Shiro helped her to her feet while Keith made sure that the wolf was dead.

Lance hovered nearby, doing absolutely nothing. "You okay?" He finally asked, and Pidge shrugged.

"I feel fine." She admitted. "But you guys are looking at me like I'm not." Pidge balled her hand into a fist and whipped her cheek. Staring at the red encasing part of her hand, the girl blinked. "Oh. I see what the problem is."

"You coulda activated your shield. That would've helped." Keith snorted, kicking the wolf's dead body.

Pidge held up her arms, presenting her gauntlets, damaged straight to the wires. "I tried that, but Mrs. Wolf shredded it."

"Mrs.?" Hunk perked up, looking at the wolf in surprise. "Ew."

"Yeah. She has a few puppies over there." Pidge pointed to a bush where a few whimpers arose. "Which means there's a Mr. as well."

Keith bent aside the leaves of the covering and pulled out his knife, the handle wrapped in cloth.

He plunged it in, sitting back on his haunches for a long moment began striking again.

Pidge squeezed her eyes shut, telling Keith to tell her when he was done.

A few minutes later Keith finished his business and the conversation resumed.

"Can you feel those cuts?" Shiro asked, purposely avoiding contact with her face.

"No. The nerves are shot. Either that or I'm in shock." Pidge frowned. "Since I'm not traumatized by what just happened, I'd go with the latter." Pidge lifted her arms again and stared at the armor. "These are also torn to shreds. I can see past my skin to my muscles. For some reason it's not that freaky. Definitely shock. And I still don't care." She peered down at her legs, which looked mostly unharmed. "Huh. We should probably get to looking for the Mr.."

"Not like that." Shiro frowned. "Lance, Hunk, take her back to the castle."

Pidge stubbornly dug her heels into the ground, glaring at her leader. "I'm not leaving." As if to emphasize her point, she sat down, glaring up at her leader.

"Pidge." Shiro glared down at her. "For once, I'm putting my foot down!"

* * *

"Remind me never to put my foot down." Shiro told Keith, who nodded in response.

Pidge walked proudly in front of them as they headed deeper into the woods, her head held high.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Lance grumbled from behind them.

"Once the shock wears off we can carry her back to the castle." Hunk pointed out. "That was part of the contract."

Pidge sent a smirk over her shoulder, grinning up at Shiro. "Do you idiots actually think I'll let you know if the shock wears off?"

"It's in the contract." Hunk grinned, crossing his arms.

"I spit on the contract." Pidge grumbled as they came to a fork in the path. "Oh. Three paths, five Paladins. One of us will have to go alone…" she smiled hopefully at Shiro.

"You're right. Pidge, come with me." Shiro glanced at her, and the smile plastered on her face wavered. "Keith, you go on the middle trail. Hunk and Lance, stick to the right road. Keep your coms on at all times." He sent a glance at Pidge to emphasize his point.

"Hey, we were all together. I stepped off the path for one second, and how could I-"

"Okay, I get it. But keep your coms open, even if we are all in a group. No tackling the problem alone." This time Shiro sent a glare at Keith, who put on a show of turning off his coms and starting down his path, shadows enveloping him in seconds.

Hunk face palmed and Lance smirked. "Guess I'll never see him again."

"Death." Pidge reminded him.

"Oh, com'n, that atheist?" Lance rolled his eyes. "Naw, he'll end up in hell."

"Actually, he believes in God." Shiro put in, but Lance and Hunk had already turned away.

"Well, we better get going." Shiro could've sworn there was a wince of pain that flashed across Pidge's face as she said that.

"Okay."

The two walked into the forest, and Shiro activated his gauntlets' flashlights and stripped one off of his wrist to hand to Pidge. The youngest Paladin excepted it with gratitude, grinning affectionately at him, but quickly concealed her look.

Shiro didn't notice and continued walking, shining his beam of light in every crevice.

Pidge followed his example and, yet again, spotted the wolf before Shiro.

"Sh…Shiro?" She tugged at his armor uncertainly, and he followed her finger.

"Oh." He blinked, staring in shock at the dark figure, it's red

eyes glowing angrily. "That's…wow."

Pidge looked up at him with worry, just as his arm activated. "Stay behind me, Pidge. Keep the shield up."

Pidge obeyed, frustration in her expression. "Be careful."

Shiro stuck, and the wolf leaped back, glaring.

Suddenly, it reared, digging it's claws into Shiro's armor, tearing past the armor and into his flesh.

Shiro plunged his arm wildly into the wolf, which collapsed, dead. Taking a staggering breath, he turned back to Pidge, who was watching him enviously as she turned off the shield.

"Are you okay? You're bleeding." Pidge blinked at him, staring up at him.

"I'll live." Pidge raised an eyebrow at him, and Shiro frowned. "I'm trying to lighten the mood."

"Those tricks don't work on me." Pidge sniffed as they started off again.

After about half an hour of walking, they turned around and headed back.

They met up with Hunk and Lance at the entrance, and sat in wait for Keith. A varga passed before he remerged, covering in sticky orange blood.

Hunk let out a yelp, but Keith insisted it was only wolf blood.

"Now, let's get you back to the castle." Keith told Pidge, who frowned at him.

"Shock still hasn't worn off!" She triumphed.

"It's in the contract that you have to come back after the hunt is over." Hunk grinned.

"Why do you keep saying 'contract'?!" Keith glared. "We never, ever drew one up!"

"I can't tell you." Hunk returned.

"Why not?"

"It's in the contract!" Lance and Hunk high-five-ed as they shouted the response at the same time.

"Okay, okay. Let's head back to the castle, but only if you never mention the contract ever again." Pidge glared. "You put some very unkind things in that thingy." With that, she pivoted and marched away.


	5. Bonding

Darkness pressed at all corners of her vision, consuming everything. Something grasped her, squeezing her tightly. She whimpered, flinching away from the arms that held her.

"You're here, in the Castle. Feel that, Pidge? That's us. You're okay." A new voice penetrated her thoughts, and something touched her cheek.

Her eyes slowly opened, finding herself staring into her friends' worried faces

"What happened…?" Pidge asked, her gaze landing on Shiro, who was closest, kneeling over her.

"You had a panic attack during training." Shiro told her, leaning out of her view as she made an effort to sit up.

Keith helped her the rest of the way up before bleakly stating "You fainted."

"Oh. Sorry." Pidge rubbed her head. "I feel like I was run over by a cement truck."

"That's normal." Shiro told her, standing up as well.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you training?!" Allura had entered the room, along with Coran, and was glaring at the five original Paladins.

"We were, and then Pidge had a panic attack." Lance explained, sending an accusing glare at the youngest Paladin.

"What in Alfor's beard were you doing that triggered it?" Coran asked, peering down at Pidge.

"I mentioned water." Hunk looked guilty. "And she collapsed."

"Sorry." Pidge repeated, studying her feet, embarrassed. "I really need to get over…that."

"I haven't gotten over my experience with the Galra." Shiro pointed out. "It's okay if you take your time."

Pidge didn't respond, but just continued to stare at her feet. "I'm gonna go…cater to Green, and such."

Even though they were supposed to be training, nobody, even Allura, stopped her as she walked out.

Green half turned when Pidge entered the room, growling slightly as a question.

"No. I just…left."

Growl.

"Yeah, I had another one."

Growl.

"Don't lecture me." Pidge moaned, rubbing her head. "I already have a headache, and I don't need this kind of attitude from you."

Growl.

"Watch what you say, Glade." Pidge glared, using the name she had created for her Lion.

Growl.

"Hey, I'm just saying-"

Growl.

"You know what?! I don't even care." Pidge snapped launching herself to her feet. "I hate this whole job! 'Defenders of the Universe'. Big deal! It doesn't get me an inch closer to finding my family. Sometimes I even wonder why you didn't bust me out of prison when I began to get tortured! You've never held back before! Do you really not care? It's only a matter of time until they realize that I can't fly you anymore. Why don't you just let me in?" Pidge kicked the force field angrily, and Glade turned her back on the young Paladin. Pidge felt a single tear slip down her cheek as she seated herself behind the Lion. "Oh, Glade…I'm sorry. Please let me in." No response. "Then I'm gonna sit right here until you let me in, even if it kills me."

Silence followed, utter silence. Pidge pulled the computer off her desk and began to type, downloading chip after chip onto it. Searching data banks excessively.

Next thing she knew, someone was shaking her awake.

"Hey, Pidge. I brought you some food." Hunk greeted her, setting a plate in front of her. "I thought you might want to…eat. You okay? You don't usually work on the floor, and especially with the doors unlocked."

"I'm fine. Just a little tired." Pidge told him, setting aside her computer. "By the way, I'm not going to come to training for a while, 'Kay?"

"Is it about the water…thing?" Hunk guiltily asked, staring at his hands.

Pidge winced but shook her head and ran her fingers over the force field gently. "I feel like I haven't spent much time with Green lately…so…you know. I want to bond with her."

"That's cool." Hunk grinned. "I haven't gotten quality time with Yellow in forever…hey, I'll keep bringing you food for however long you've gonna stay here, okay?"

"Sounds great. Thanks, Hunk."

"Anytime." Hunk gave her a happy nod and left the room.

Pidge set the plate aside, beginning to type on her computer once more, pausing every few minutes to eat a morsel.

"Why don't you like me anymore?" Pidge asked, staring up at her Lion. "Was it something I did?"

Images flooded her mind, pictures of her beaten shape, of her agonized thrashing,.

A vision of her snapping at Green. "I don't want to talk about it, okay? It was bad enough to endure it once, I don't want to even talk about it. Ever again." Finally she felt Green's feelings, mixed with hurt and curiosity.

"Oh." Pidge blinked, staring at the wall as the images ended. "That's it? All you want me to do is tell you what happened?"

An affirmative growl.

"Oh. You know I can't do it, Green! I don't like thinking about it, much less talking about it!"

Green growled threateningly, turning so her head was above Pidge as she glared down.

"Then I guess…I can't be a Paladin anymore." Pidge sniffed, and she heard a slight stumble come from the entry way.

She raised her head and found herself facing Keith, a surprised expression on his face.

"You're leaving?" Keith sounded shocked, like he hadn't been expected her remark. He must have just come in during her last statement.

"No. No! I'm just…staying. How…why? I mean, not that. It's just that…why would you think I'm leaving? Of course I'm not leaving! That would be awful! We…you couldn't form Voltron, and I'd be alone, and I just couldn't-!" Pidge realized she had been babbling, and stopped herself as she leaned her head back against the field.

"You're leaving." Keith murmured, just loud enough for Pidge to hear. "Again."

"No." Pidge responded, moving her eyes so that she looked down at him. "I just…Green wants me to tell her everything that happened, and I can't. And she won't let me fly her until I do, and so…"

"You're not a Paladin." Keith's features sagged into a relieved expression. "You're staying."

"Yeah, where else would I go?" Pidge looked up at Green's chin again.

"I blame myself for allowing you to get captured." Keith admitted, taking a few cautious steps towards her. "I can't believe I didn't realize that I couldn't lure away all of the soldiers, and I shoulda doubled back. But instead I left in my lion, expecting that there hadn't been an error in my plan."

"I don't blame you. Well, I did, but I understand now. I just wasn't smart enough to take the opportunity. Or strong enough to take the guard down."

"Yeah, well…" Keith fell silent before continuing. "I understand keeping your secrets." He reached behind him and fingered something Pidge couldn't see. "Now, how about you talk it out with Green and then join us for some game time? Hunk and Lance came up with a really funny game, and we'd like you to participate."

Pidge snorted. "I'd rather do the 'talk it out with Green' thing in privacy. Door's behind you."

Keith mouth twisted into a brief smile and he left the room.

"What if we come to a compromise?" Pidge asked, staring up at her Lion. "Like, I tell you about the less painful things and we call in Macaroni?"

Green disagreed, her worry flooding into Pidge's mind.

"Fine. They didn't touch me for two days. Then, on the third day, they expanded my lungs with air and threw knives and shot lasers at me. That was it. Happy?!"

Green growled, leaning over Pidge.

"Okay, okay. They also tried to drown me." Pidge grumped. "But you already know about that."

Green growled sadly, stooping over her Paladin.

"Love you too, girl." Pidge whispered, and the force field disintegrated.

Pidge hastened to her feet. "Waaaait a minute…you only wanted me to say that one thing, didn't you?"

The Green Lion did her equivalent of a shrug, purring.

"Weirdo." Pidge hissed through clenched teeth before standing in front of her lion. She wrapped her arms around the lion's leg and hugged her, treasuring every moment she got with her precious companion.

* * *

 **Author's note;**

 **I'm open to suggestions about this story! But, if you have ideas for ships, I only write about Shidge, Lotidge, Allura x Coran, Hunk x Shay, and Lance and the female mermaids. But, now that Season 5 has been released, I can write about Punk/Hidge, Allurance, and Lotura. Kuridge and Alluatt may be possiblities, too, if people ask.**

 **-Gravtron1**


	6. Family and Paranoia

**Hey, everyone! This is a prompt someone gave me, that I'm just getting around too.**

 **Sorry for taking so long to update, but I may go into another long hiatus soon. I'm writing another book and really need to finish it…**

 **Anyway, here we go.**

 **Set after Bloodlines;**

* * *

"Well." Pidge bluntly blinked, her hand falling from her forehead. "That is NOT how I expected that to end."

"Yeah. Fun-Sentry is gone…forever…" Hunk sniffled, Lance patting him half-sympathetically on the back.

"Hey, buddy," Lance shrugged. "Look at it plus-ly, y-"

"Positively, Lance." Pidge interrupted, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, yeah. That's what I said. Positively. Anyway. The guy WANTED to see the stars. We were just fulfilling his desire."

"Hey, Paladins," one of guards, namely, the larger one, they didn't really know their names, squeezed them into a hug. "Thank you SO much! I'll probably get fired, but I had a LOT of fun."

"Yeah. Well, hopefully not fired…" the other guard's voice trailed off, and he scowled. "Eh. Anyway, Paladins, wanna play a common game with us."

"Are you talking about-?!" The fat guard's squealed, hugging them tighter.

"Glagoshious?! You know it!" The two jumped excitedly, pleasure alighting in their eyes.

"Wanna play?" The fat one asked, finally letting go and allowing them to breathe.

"Yeah." Pidge nodded. "How do you play?"

"We'll explain it once we get to the gym." The lean one nodded.

"Not to sound rude, but what the cheese are you guy's names?!" Asked Lance, blinking at them questionably.

"I'm Lasorron, and this is Jibe." The lean one answered, grinning. "And you are…?"

"I'm Lance, and this is Pidge and Hunk."

"Pleasure!" Jibe nodded, holding out a hand towards them in greeting.

A earthling would simply grab his hand, but, the Paladins had been trained well. Instead, they clasped his elbow, and he smiled.

"Com'n, let's go!" Lasorron grinned, leading them towards the gym.

Within moments, they had all lined up in the gym with the doors securely locked behind them.

"So, Paladins, this is the Glagoshious pit. We will not be allowed out for ten, whole doboshes. You cannot have a time out until it ends. See that board?" Lasorron pointed, and they nodded. "It keeps track of how many times we're hit. The person with the least marks wins.

"Wait…" Pidge hesitated, her brow furrowing. "Hit as in sphere objects being hurtled at us?"

"Yep!" Jibe nodded, then, as the gym was automated to launch objects for whatever game they commanded, ordered into the air; "Glagoshious!"

All the walls folded up, revealing several tubes, ready to fire at will.

"But, I have a-!" Pidge tried to tell them, but Lasorron drowned her out.

"Begin!"

"I have a paranoia of-!" Pidge tried again, but a ball hit her in the back and she cried out.

Whose idea was it to make balls so hard…like a rock…?

'Oh, my goodness, Katie! I'm so sorry!' The words sounded in Pidge's mind, and she dropped to the floor, forcing herself to roll. She rolled right underneath the pipes, safe from the barricade of balls, and she let the memories come.

Katie laughed, peering down at the water in excitement, letting her fingers run through it. "Matt!" She called, motioning him over. "It's such a big puddle!"

"Perfect for throwing rocks in." Matt nodded, acting as if he had discovered the large water vat.

"Can I throw this rock?" Katie asked, finding a grey rock, cracks and spots of dirt encasing it.

"Yeah. Any rock you want." Matt told her, not even looking up.

She tossed it as far as her five-year old arms could hurl it, which was still pretty far, and grinned, satisfying.

Matt was about five meters behind her, finding other rocks and expanding his pile. "Katie. I bet I can throw it even farther from here!"

"I bet you can not!" Katie smirked, daring her eight year old brother.

"I bet I can." Matt bluffed.

"Matt." Katie grinned, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet. "You can't. I know it, too!"

Matt glared frostily at her, picking up the biggest rock in his pile and hurling it.

"Matt!" Their mother, who was standing nearby, screeched in warning. It was too late.

Katie felt herself collapse to the ground, the pain shooting through every part of her body as her brother gasped.

"Oh my goodness, Katie!" Matt breathed, by her side in seconds. "I'm so sorry!"

"Matt!" Mrs. Holt sobbed, picking up her daughter bridal style. "She's hurt! You should be more-!" Mrs. Holt looked at her sobbing son as she sighed, holding her bleeding daughter closer to her. "Never mind, Matt. We're going home."

Matt followed his mother and sister all the way home, crying.

Katie didn't remember much after that. Just bits and pieces.

At the time, her family had just moved into a new home, and their grandpa and father were fixing it up properly.

They came to fuss over her as her mother set her in the bathtub to help clean the wound, and then she was rushed to the doctor's. Staples were applied to her wound, and after that-

* * *

It didn't matter.

Pidge bit her lip, relieved that she had some shelter from the balls.

She sank further underneath the pipes, holding back sobs of shock.

Finally everything ended, and Pidge felt her body go slack.

"What the cheese, Pidge!" Lance huffed, peering under the pipes at her as the gym automatically cleaned itself up. "That was a cheep victory! Why'd you roll under there?!"

Pidge stood up, staring at him with huge eyes as she dusted herself off.

"I…uh…I…" Pidge saw the doors slide open, ignoring everyone's sideways glances at her. "I need to go. Now. Leave. I can't-!" She scurried from the room, her shoulders shaking in horror.

Finally she managed to reside her son's, hiding her fears. She slowed to a stop, pinching the bridge of her nose. Why was she such a scaredy cat?

After a moment of aimless wandering, she heard Shiro and Coran's voice, tracking them down to a room with a purple holographic image of the universe, almost identical to the castles. Right off she could see a few changes, like how more planets were gone, and it was larger.

Shiro glanced up when she entered, but hardly for a second. No change in expression, just a blank stare.

Coran however, greeted her with a cheerful wave, motioning her over. "Hello, Number Five. Done with your tour already?"

"We didn't venture far." Pidge shrugged. "We mainly hung around the normal areas. You know, Sentry Repair Center-"

"-only you would consider that a 'normal area'." Shiro huffed. It sounded more like an insult then a compliment.

"-uh-huh." Pidge sarcastically agreed. "Continuing…Hangers, made a few stops to the kitchen, the throne room, and the Robeast launch facility."

"My! Seems you had your hands full, Pidge!" Coran nodded enthusiastically, rummaging through the maps. Pidge got the feeling that he wasn't really listening.

She slipped from the room, nobody even batting an eye at her disappearance.

She decided to retreat to her dorm in the castle, knowing that nobody would even notice. She wondered if it were disrespectful that she left so soon.

Pidge arrived in her bed room, plopping down on her bed, after scooting a few tools to the side, of course, and turned on her computer.

Matt's face sprung up on the screen within a few moment, looking slightly annoyed. "Pidge? What's up? I need to finish the upgrades, so can this-? Oh. What's wrong?"

"We played dodgeball." Pidge huffed, and Matt's eyes widened.

"So that's what the problem is. If I was there, I'd hug you, but I'm over here. You okay?"

"I…I guess I'm used to attention." Pidge sighed, pinching her nose. "It really bugs me when people don't listen. I tried and tried to tell them that I have a paranoia of things coming towards me, but…ugh. I feel like I stayed up all night NOT studying."

Matt chuckled at the expression before becoming serious once more. "Listen, Katie, I understand that. It took me FOREVER to get the rebels to listen to me. But, remember, just because they're preoccupied doesn't mean that they don't care."

"Uh, I'm pretty sure that Shiro DOESN'T care." Pidge huffed.

Matt ignored the interruption, and continued. "Katie, they love and respect you. They WANT to help. Maybe they can't because…because you won't open up?"

"Matt…I-"

"Just think about it."

"O-Okay. Thanks, Matt."

"No prob. That's what family's for, right?"

"Yeah. Bye."

"Bye. And…tell them, m'kay? They worry about you, y'know."

* * *

 **Author's Note;**

 **In two days I'm changing this books title to Angst and Bonding.**

 **I want prompts, as long as they have to do with Pidge.**

 **I'm fine with ships, my favorites being Shidge, Lotidge, Lotura, Shay x Hunk, Allurance, Lance x female mermaids. I'm fine as background ships, too, such as Hidge/Punk, Alluatt, and Kuridge.**

 **I've watched S5, (obviously) so yeah!**

 **(Next up, a story about Insomnia, as was a previous prompt.)**


	7. Fall of the Castle

**Author's note; I'm working on another chapter, a requested chapter, but this has been playing through my mind for so long I had to write it. This is an AU of the Paladins' fight against Sendak, in Tears of the Balmera, Season 1 episode 5, where things go just a LITTLE differently…for the worse. Enjoy!**

* * *

Sendak didn't take his threats lightly.

He knew that, Haxus HAD known that, and Zarkon knew that.

He was willing to do whatever it took to achieve victory. Even if it meant killing this…MEASLY little thing in his grasp.

The Green Paladin began to groan as his claws began to penetrate her armor, engraving itself into its smooth surface.

The Red Paladin and the Princess stared at the tiniest Paladin in horror, and Sendak felt a twinge of satisfaction as they glanced wearily at each other.

"Stand back!" He ordered, fighting back a smirk.

He heard the shimmering of the sound that was undeniably a Bayard coming to life behind him.

Sendak glared. He had thought Zarkon had the Black Bayard.

His mechanical eye whirred as he turned his head, and now he saw.

The Blue Paladin had his gun targeted in his back. Of course he HAD to wake up at this exact moment.

Sendak squeezed the child in his prosthetic arm more tightly, an obvious threat. It made it even clearer when the child clenched his (or her…?) teeth to hold back a cry of pain.

He kept his robotic eye on the blue Paladin, who looked slightly confused. The Blue Paladin glanced at the leader, who lowered his head in defeat, not looking at his teammates.

Sendak heard a grunt, and turned around again just in time to see the red human boy leap at him, his Bayard glowing with life as it took on the shape of a large sword.

Sendak smirked, batting him away with the Green Paladin, although keeping his friend clenched in his grasp.

"Paladin scum!" He spat. "Do you really care that little about your friend. About this pathetic human? This failure? It would help us both if his life was ended." He clenched his claws as tightly as he could around the Paladin's body, drawing blood.

Unlike purple Galra blood, the child's blood was bright red, showing off easily against his armor and he let out a cry of protest, his entire body shaking.

"Pidge…" the Princess whispered, covering her mouth with a fingerless gloved hand. "I'm…no…"

"If any of you dare to oppose me-" Sendak was interrupted by a gun shot, and he gaped, stumbling forward with shock. He had forgotten about the Blue Paladin.

He kept his fingers grasping Pidge, panting with effort.

Pidge was silent at the sudden jolt, at Sendak felt a twinge of disappointment. Did he finish the boy off too quickly?

The Black Paladin charged him, his teeth clenched, and Sendak swatted him away, grinning. Never mind, he could have fun with these idiots.

"So you don't value him." Sendak chuckled, feeling his thumb meet his other fingers through the child's flesh.

The child suddenly began to thrash, screaming curses in Atlean.

"Let me go!" He huffed, each movement sending a course of pain through his entire body. "I quiznaking swear, if you don't let go of me this moment, I will rip your limbs off-!"

"As you wish." Sendak chuckled, forcing his fingers out of Pidge's flesh.

The Black Paladin raised his head from where he let huddled on the floor, letting out a frantic "STOP!"

Sendak obliged, backing against a wall where he could see all four of them, The Red Paladin frozen in rising from the ground and the Princess in the motion of withdrawing a gun from a secret holster in her armor.

"Shiro…?" The Princess asked, referring to her leader as she glanced at Pidge, the child now appearing paralyzed.

"Stop. Sendak. Please." The Black Paladin was trembling, his eyes frantic. "Don't let her go. Don't let her bleed out. Please."

"Her…?" Sendak heard the Blue Paladin mumble weakly. "What-?!"

Her. So the Paladin was a female. Was she perhaps the Black one's mate? Was that why he cared so deeply about her? Where all human females this frail?

"Why should I?" Sendak chose to ask instead, frowning. "Beggars aren't the choosers. I could release her right now. It wouldn't be hard."

"Please." The black one begged once more, his white lock of hair looking like it was drooping even more then normal. "I'll do anything."

"Shiro…?" The red boy asked, lowering his sword.

"All of you, drop your weapons." Sendak realized he could use this to his advantage.

Instantly the Bayard that the blue one held clattered to the floor. There was a moment of hesitation, then the sword went down, too.

Only the princess remained.

"Well?" Sendak thundered. It was ironic. He was threatening to release the girl, when only moment before he had been forcing them to stop as he began to pierce her. "Drop your weapon."

"Allura." Shiro warned, fear bleeding into his gaze.

A flash of defiance crossed the woman's face. "The mission is more important then the individual. I…I…" her bottom lip trembled as she drew the gun to her breast, pointing it at Sendak.

Sendak smirked at her, releasing Pidge fully so that the girl crumpled to the ground, blood seeping out of her chest and her stomach. Pidge let out a fit of coughs, folding herself around her stomach as she hugged her knees, willing herself not to bleed out.

"Oh!" Allura gasped, her eyes widening in shock, and the gun unwilling slipped from her hand. "Pidge! What have I-?!"

"Katie!" Shiro managed to stand, taking a few weak and painful steps towards his friend, before his legs gave way under his weight and he crumpled again.

The mullet-ed one was shocked, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the crippled child.

Sendak smirked at them, placing his foot against Pidge's head. "All you had to do was drop the weapon."

"I DROPPED IT!" Allura shrieked, seeming to notice the absence in her palm for the first time. "Help her!"

"No." Sendak felt like laughing, giving Pidge a violent kick, sending spams through her limp form as she cried out in pain. "You failed. She's as good as dead now."

Sendak began to laugh, grabbing Allura by the arm and forcing her to the control board. "Launch the ship, girl."

Keith broke from his trance, slowly reached behind him, grabbing something from his belt.

Sendak heard a creak of metal, but payed no attention. After all, the Black Paladin was weak, the Blue Paladin was probably unconscious, there was literally no way the Green Paladin could attack him, and of course the Red Paladin couldn'e be that quiet. It was probably space mice.

What he didn't know is that Keith COULD be that quiet. Keith took aim, his brow furrowing as he targeted the ridge that connected Sendak's neck to his head…

The knife pierced the Galra before he could blink, and Sendak immediately collapsed, unconscious.

Allura gaped, turning about. She stared at Sendak, then, frantically, she pressed several buttons, activating a particular barrier around the unconscious, or, best case scenario, dead form.

"Keith! That was amazing!" She gapped, relief surging through her heart. She only now realized that she would have been devastated to know that Pidge's death had come at her hand, but what if it still did-?!

Allura shook her head to clear her thoughts as Keith answered.

His response was grim, heart-wrenching to Allura. "I've killed before." Was what he said, and he meant every word of it.

Allura blinked, and he was at Shiro's side, cutting through his restraints with his Bayard.

"Allura." Keith ordered, raising his head briefly as he stared at the princess, helping Shiro to his feet. "Take care of Pidge."

Allura nodded, blinking at all the blood. Was this blood on her hands?

She knelt beside Pidge, searching her over. Okay. Pidge whimpered every time she was touched, tears trailing down her cheeks. Pidge was fine. She HAD to be. As long as she got to a healing pod…

Allura heard footsteps, and she raised her head, meeting Shiro's grey ones. He looked tired, his eyebrows knitted together with pain, hunched over. He was leaning on Keith's sword, his eyes dull. He sat down beside Pidge, placing a hand on her head.

Pidge flinched, then, after a moment's hesitation, leaned into the touch.

"Shiro." Allura whispered, glancing wearily at Shiro. "I am SO sorry. I didn't mean…"

"It doesn't matter now." Shiro sighed, also keeping his voice low. "I'm thankful that…your DEFIANCE probably actually saved Pidge's, and millions of others, lives. If anything, I should be thanking you." Shiro moved around to Pidge's more damaged side, picking her up.

Pidge instantly began to thrash, crying with pain. Shiro held her closer, trying to ease her pain. He had to keep her close to him, hopefully stop up her bleeding.

"Allura…" Shiro hesitated, a common practice that day. "How will we get her in a healing pod? Will she have to hold off until Hunk and Coran return?"

"Well…it's a risk, but…" Allura hesitated for a dobosh, then nodded to the Galra Crystal. "We could use that until they come back."

"Let's contact them first, see how far they are away."

"Understood." Allura began to turn on her coms, then froze. "Has Keith actually killed before?"

"Mainly chickens, but there was the occasional dog or cat that got on his nerves. But…" Shiro hesitated, gazing at Sendak. "Keith is a lot like Galra. He doesn't take threats lightly. Not recently, at least."

Allura nodded, then turned on her coms.

Luckily, it was good news. Hunk and Coran were a dobosh out, and would be there soon.

Lance and Pidge could hold out; they had to. Allura knew they could; the only question was; would they?


	8. Stronger Together

Stronger Together

* * *

 **Author's Note; Sorry for taking so long. I was busy making the first Chapter for 'Broken Home'. Also, I lost inspiration for this chapter halfway through.**

 **Suggestion by Crystalwolfey, who provided the key word Insomnia.**

 **Anyway, takes place in between Season 3 Episode 5, AKA The Journey, and Season 3 Episode 6, AKA Trailing a Comet.**

 **Can anyone spot the Incredibles 2 reference? If you do, please review and tell me what you think it is!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Pidge couldn't sleep. No, it wasn't that she liked staying up all night programming. Not tonight. Of course it wasn't that she liked laying in bed and staring at the ceiling until she fell asleep. And she hasn't even TRIED to get comfortable. She wasn't even IN her room in the first place. Instead, she was out on one of the Castle's many balconies, her arms crossed, leaning against the handrails,she gazed up at the stats.

The stars…yes, that was the problem. The stars had taken so much from her. Her family, prosperous nights of sleeping…and Shiro.

Shiro had been taken away from her twice, now, and twice he returned. The first time, his outwardly apparence was the largest part of him changed, as well as some PTSD. The second time…

He had just returned the day before, placing himself in his dorm and confining himself to his bedroom and bathroom. He only allowed Keith in to see him.

He refused to even TALK to anyone, and instead hung out with Keith for hours at a time as he regained strength.

So Pidge was disappointed. It used to be that she could break through to him quicker then you could snap your fingers. She was the person to send when he wasn't opening up to the others. So they sent her first after he barricaded the door. She tried hacking the door open, but Shiro re-locked the door several times, changing the password periodically.

So they tried Keith next. And Shiro instantly let him in.

And all the Paladins waited breathlessly outside until Keith came out. Speaking of Keith…

"Pidge." The Red/Black Paladin appeared, leaning against the balcony rails. "What're you doing up?"

"I could say the same to you." Pidge huffed. "How's Shiro?"

A faint smile touched Keith's lips and he shook his head sadly. "Finally sleeping. I had to talk about pointless things, like the flavor of food goo to get him so board that he fell asleep." Keith laughed dryly, shaking his head. "Anyway, what about you?"

"I'm FINE." Pidge snapped. "You can go away, now."

"Oh, no." Keith groaned, face-palming. "This isn't about Shiro, is it? It wasn't MY fault he only wanted to see me."

"You don't get it, do you?!" Pidge stepped away from the former Red Paladin, a glare stretching across her face. "Shiro is…WAS like a second father to me! Like the brother I never had! And now he wants nothing to do with me!" She lashed out her hand, anger filling her every movement. "It's not FAIR!"

"Nothing's fair." Keith hissed, clutching her fingers against his palms. "Listen, I am truly sorry about Shiro. It seems that everything is just…WRONG now, since the Lion switch. It just doesn't seem right. Pidge…" Keith hesitated, then foraged onward. "Do you remember about a month back when we were the arms?"

Pidge nodded grimly, wondering where he was heading.

"We were Pidge and Keith, the unstoppable duo! We fought arm in arm, I as the offense, you as the defense. We, when we fought side by side, always emerged victorious. Remember those serpents on Volsroy? Who defeated them while the other Paladins were held prisoner? We did, together! When we were fighting the first Galra cruiser, who blew it up, literally, from the inside? We did that! Whenever the Black Lion went out of commission, who dragged it back into the Castle? Us! Who helped Shiro into the healing pod after he got injured by Haggar? Team Kidge! And, finally, when we rescued Shiro from the Garrison, who held on to him so he didn't fall off, and who drove while Hunk and Lance did nothing? You and I! So why should we let a small matter like a delusional Shiro get in the way of our powerful force?"

Pidge had to chuckle, freeing her hands from Keith's death grip and whipping her unshed tears from her face. "Sorry, I just…yeah. Sorry."

"You're upset." Keith chuckled. "I understand that, more than you know. How about…" Keith hesitated, then extended his hand in an offer. "I really like you, Pidge. You're my best friend after Shiro. But I don't know you very well. Can we talk or maybe…hug?" Keith's face clouded with a pink hue, his eyes silently begging Pidge to accept.

"…Okay." Pidge agreed, accepting his hand slowly.

Keith pulled her against his chest, burrowing his face in her brown locks. "Thank you. I really need this. I've been starved for physical contact."

Pidge nodded, then whispered, "Me too. It's been really stressful lately."

Keith nodded, his sharp chin rubbing against her head. "That's…that's true." He inhaled sharply, then let out a drawn-out breath.

They stood like that for a long time, breathing in each other's presence.

"Well." Keith finally whispered, still clutching her to his chest. "Shiro…Shiro's asleep right now…we could go see him, if you like."

"Isn't that like…invading privacy?" Pidge snorted, taking a few steps away from her leader.

"I'm his brother." Keith laughed, pocking one of her glass's lens with his finger. "So of it's not EXACTLY invading his privacy. But, what he doesn't know can't hurt him." Keith winked.

"Honestly, you're just like Matt." Pidge grumbled, using her green and white shirt to run away the dirt on the lens. "Wait, I didn't know you and Shiro were siblings."

"I used to have a mow-hock." Keith grinned. "There's a lot you don't know about me."

"You used to have a mow-hock…?"

"Eh. You didn't miss anything." Keith grunted, his face becoming temporarily grim. It lightened up after a dobosh, and he took her hand again. "Com'n, Pidge." He said, pulling her inside the Castle.

"I don't think we should be doing this." Pidge deadpanned, glancing around with worry in her gaze.

"Hey, Pidge, you know what they call us on the Galra Data-Plant?" Keith asked, turning around to blink at her inquiringly.

"Voltron…Force?"

"Rebels. We're REBELS to the Galra cause, and you're worried about looking in one of our Teammate's rooms?"

"How do YOU know what they call us?" Pidge snapped, not enjoying being teased.

"I sometimes work with the Blade. I'm provided inside information." Keith replied, his tone smooth.

"Oh." Pidge blinked. There was something about Keith that made him nearly impossible to stay mad at. She wondered how Lance managed to preserve his fury at the former Red Paladin.

They continued in silence, only stopping when they arrived at Shiro's door. Keith inserted the password, and the two entered, their footsteps matching perfectly.

Pidge sat down on the edge of Shiro's bed, gazing at his face. He may be delusional, but he had put a damper on the Paladins' relationship.

Pidge glanced at Keith's face, noticing for the first time the bags under his eyes. He was exhausted, but he had been there for her.

Pidge stood, making her way towards him. He was right, she realized, they were stronger together. Nothing could change that.

* * *

 **Author's Note;**

 **Be Wherever You Are Part 1 is coming soon to a near you!**


	9. Be Wherever You Are Part 1

**Author's Note; This is going to be a several part story, and I don't know how long it is to last. I hope to update once a week, but who knows? Anyway, here's the Author's Note that actually matters;**

* * *

 **Author's Note** **Part 2;**

 **Suggestion by bigtimedreamer101 who stated; It would be cool to see a story where Pidge and Lance get stranded somewhere, maybe with Hunk.**

 **Takes place between Season 2 Episode 13, AKA Blackout and Season 3 Episode 1, AKA Changing of the Guard.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

It was supposed to be a simple mission. Get in, grab the information, get out. Instead it ended in the path to the Green Lion being blocked and Hunk and Lance both getting shot in the leg, Pidge in the arm.

During the firefight, the three Paladins assigned to the mission, Pidge, Lance, and Hunk, ducked into an empty room.

"We only have a matter of time until they break open the door." Pidge told the older boys as she locked the door. "How're you holding up, guys?"

"Nnngh." Hunk groaned back, pressing his palm against his left leg, which was bleeding badly. "Can't wait to get off this ship."

"Sooner we get off of this Lionforsaken ship the better." Lance grunted, slightly smiling through the pain. "Hurts like heck."

Pidge grunted, grabbing some of her armor's under suit. She peeled off the cloth covering her neck, ripping it into a large shred. She pressed the cloth against Hunk's leg, tying her two gloves around Hunk's leg to keep the temporary bandage in place.

"Wow." Hunk whistled, poking her handiwork.

"Where'd you learn that?" Lance asked, sounding impressed.

"Mom taught Matt and I survival skills when we were eight." Pidge shrugged, repeating the motion with another piece of clothing on Lance. "I still remember some of it, I suppose." She reactivated her Bayard, switching it to her right hand, instead of her superior, yet injured, left side as she turned back towards the door. "We'll have to run the entire distance to the Green Lion, because we can't risk being caught. It's hardly a quarter mile. Are you up for it?"

"Probably not, but I'll do my best." Hunk admitted.

"That's a big, fat diddo for me." Lance sighed, his eyebrows scrunched together.

"Okay." It was rare when Pidge made plans, but they usually worked out fine. "Then, I'm going to open the door on three, and can you two clear out as many sentries as you can with your guns?"

"I think so." Both nodded at the same time as they withdrew their guns.

"Okay. Three…two…one!" Pidge hit the button that opened the doors, and instantly sentries flooded the room, lasers firing. Most came from the Galra, but Lance hit each one that he aimed for with his gun is easy succession, and Hunk fired aimlessly, hitting most of the ones in the doorway. Pidge's Bayard wrapped around a robot's waist, and she yanked it, ramming her victim into several other sentries.

When the last Galra fell due to Lance's gun, all three of them broke into a run.

"Where do we turn?!" Lance asked as they arrived at a split hallway within a hundred meteors.

"Left!" Pidge told him from behind as she tried to help Hunk run quicker. Large man + injured leg = LOTS OF PAIN.

Lance managed to keep ahead of them, using the sniper rifle, that he discovered he could summon, as a cane.

He turned left, drawing his gun and taking care of the sentries that blocked the path. "Guys! We need to hurry!"

"Right!" Pidge fell back, letting Hunk go after Lance as she guarded them from behind.

"okay." Lance nodded, swerving to the right.

"No! I meant right as in correct! Go LEFT!"

Lance nodded, his face reddening from embarrassment. "Sorry." He mumbled, changing direction as they hurried along.

A sentry's gun fired at them, and Pidge used her shield to defend them, her heart thumping. _Oh, Shiro_. She cried silently. _This would be so much easier if I knew you were waiting for me! But you're gone. And the only thing keeping me going is the need to avenge you._

Pidge grunted as a large laser shocked the shield slightly. "Guys! Keep going! I can't hold them off forever!" _Lord, give me strength_. She prayed, sending a glance at the older Paladins.

A couple well-placed shots from Lance's gun sent the sentries that were pursuing them onto their knees. "Com'n! Just a bit further!" He called, waving to the two of them as Hunk paused for a few ticks to catch his breath, sweat rolling off his cheeks.

"Yeah, man, just a moment." Hunk whipped off his sweat, his eyes downcast as he broke into a hobbling run, if one could even call it that.

Pidge brought up the rear, using her katar to fend the Galra off, and using her shield to protect the others.

Moments later, they found themselves at the airlock, such would open to the area where the Green Lion was waiting.

Hunk ducked inside first, his wound deeper then Lance's, and more strained as well.

Lance ducked inside next, Pidge pressing the button which opened up the airlock.

Moments later all three drifted into space, their eyebrows punched together in pain. The Green Lion raised her head from where she waited, her claws gripping into the ship, large marks slashed against the hull. She took off, opening her jaw to clasp them.

The hiss of the sudden air pressure made all three of them falter, Pidge the first on her feet.

Pidge was in the hanger in an instant, reaching for the cloaking button. Thank goodness she modified it up last up to a full quintent.

Before she could fully reach it, Green jerked beneath her, a loud groan of pain sounding as dozens of fighters encircled the beast, lasers rocking her with every shot. Pidge's left arm struck the chair, a sharp pain ebbing through her limb. Pidge, unwilling to move it, grasped it, a low moan escaping her lips.

She turned to the cloaking device again, this time extending her right arm. The next hit was violent; it took Pidge a moment to realize that the barricade had ceased and that Green was dropping towards the planet fair below.

"What's going on?!" Lance shouted over the alarms, his hand dropping onto Pidge's shoulder.

"Buckle up, you two!" Pidge screeched at them, reaching both hands for the controls.

She heard the seat-belts click into place behind her, but before she could pull up on the joysticks to activate the hind boosters, the ground collided with Green's face.

* * *

The darkness around her was soothing…relaxing…but completely out of the ordinary.

Pidge started, her heart hammering in her chest. She blinked, realizing that part of the Green Lion's head was caved in, her eyes were shattered, and dirt was strewn across the beast's interior. Luckily, it appeared the Green Lion had scooted back the pilot's chair, for Pidge was mostly out of the way of the damage. Pidge remembered suddenly the danger they were in. The Galra were probably scouting for her Lion right now! And if the Lion hadn't been in an angle, Pidge might've believed that they WERE in a Galra ship.

Pidge twisted around, relief sparking in her when she made out Hunk and Lance's limp forms on the benches that bordered the back of the cockpit.

The Green Lion, sensing that her Paladin was awake, sent her a groan of pain, begging her to help. _Please, my Paladin,_ the lion pleaded. _Green is hurt, Green is broken_!

"Um…" Pidge stood up hesitantly, beginning to slid towards the front of the Lion before she grabbed the chair to hold herself steady. "I'm so sorry, Green, but I have to make sure that Hunk and Lance are okay. Once I get their wounds taken care of I'll do my best to help you. Do you think we can contact the Castle?"

 _No…_ Green sighed. _The communications unit is damaged, and so is the the main tracking feature. The emergency tracking isn't online either, but that's just a blown fuse._

"Okay. That'll be the first thing I repair." Pidge told her, pulling herself up so that she could reach Lance. "Just hang tight, Green."

Pidge tilted her head so that she could see Lance properly. She glanced at Hunk, noticing instantly the blood that trailed all over the cockpit. "I'll be back, you two." She whispered, managing to push herself into the hallway that connected the Lion's hanger to all the extra rooms, supply deck, and the Green Speeder's hanger.

Pidge headed to the supply deck, finding a basic first aid kit inside a medical box. Pidge pulled off her left arm's armor and rolled up the under-suit. She applied some burn cream before wrapping her wound up in bandages. She pulled her under-suit back to her wrist and applied armor. She knew for a fact that even though, out of all four of them, she was the least injured, she needed to be treated first so that she could help the others better. She also found some painkillers, which she pushed into a side pocket on her suit after swallowing one. She tucked all the medicine and bandages underneath her arm, and headed back for the cockpit.

By the time she finished removing the leg armor on Hunk, Lance was beginning to stir. Pidge had to ignore his groans of pain so that she could finish with Hunk. The large oaf's skin was paler than usual thanks to blood loss, and Pidge felt a stroke of fear. His entire left calf was black, TOO black, and puss leaked out from the wound.

She bound his leg in bandages before replaced the armor then whipped around to face Lance, whose eyes were beginning to flutter open.

"Gah!" Lance trembled, his eyes widening when he realized what a weird position he was in.

"Hey, buddy. We've got to get you outta there. It'll be easier to bandage your wound if you're not suspended in the air." Pidge told him, not entirely sure he was quite somber.

"O-okay." Lance reached up to the buckle lock, fiddling with it for a moment before it became free. He scooted down a few feet, but by grinding his feet sharply into the ground he stopped. He half sat down on the pilot's seat, his injured leg on top of the chair so Pidge could properly bind it.

"Green's in pretty bad shape." Lance noted, his face scrunching up with pain. "When are you going to fix her?"

"Ummmmm…" Pidge bit her tongue as she revealed the full glory of Lance's wound. It was a second degree burn, with flakes of black scattered around. So it was close to a third degree, but not quite. Blood and puss were seeping from the center, deep enough that Pidge could see a muscle. "I'm going to fix you up first." She told him, putting on a fake smile. "Green is a big, nearly indestructible Lion. She can hold on longer then you can, especially since this wound is infected."

"What about Hunk?"

"I took care of his wound first." Pidge told him, applying burn cream to his injury. "You'll both be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive!" Pidge assured him, the lie burning in her mind. Truth be told, Pidge was worried. She had only the day before added the emergency tracker, and hadn't yet told Allura or Coran about it. She HAD told Keith, however, because she had added the same feature to the Red Lion, but he tended to be gone for days at a time searching for Shiro. He had been on one of these expeditions when they had left to go on their own mission. So, truth be told, Pidge was worried. Days might go by with no help, no healing pod, and no nutritious good besides the packets of instant goo that were stored several closest a down. If Lance and Hunk didn't get help soon, there was a possibility that they would be a leg without a leg. And, even worse, the Green Lion was injured. Without the proper supplies, Pidge couldn't fix her. They couldn't fly away or attack if Galra showed up, and would be in even worse danger.

Pidge did not voice her fears aloud, however. She kept them inside, and prayed quietly. _Father above, please, PLEASE let the other Paladins track us down. I don't know how long we can stay down here._


	10. Be Wherever You Are Part 2

**Author's Note;**

 **Suggestion by bigtimedreamer101 who stated; It would be cool to see a story where Pidge and Lance get stranded somewhere, maybe with Hunk.**

 **Takes place between Season 2 Episode 13, AKA Blackout and Season 3 Episode 1, AKA Changing of the Guard.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Pidge glanced at the bucketful of berries that she held in her right hand, sighing as she pinched the bridge of her nose. They had been stranded here for two quintents, and already they were sick of the instant goo, and running low on it. The instant goo was supposed to help one person survive for two weeks, but there were two people, and one was given a larger ration then the other(Hunk). Pidge never ate her share to stretch out the rations. She was sure they were as clueless about that then about her arm.

The emergency tracker was fixed, but all it did was drain Green's energy broadcasting a signal that wasn't helping in the least. Still, Pidge refused to turn it off, holding on to hope.

Pidge heard the sound of a ship nearing, and ducked underneath a large tree as she watched ten Galra fighters soar overhead, their engines roaring. Pidge counted to a dobosh then took off running towards the Green Lion's crash site.

Pidge had also gotten the Green Lion's cloaking, camera monitors and engines online, keeping one Paladin stationed at her computer at all times. Pidge had hooked her computer up to the Green Lion's controls, so that they could control the Green Lion without the front of the cockpit. They had managed to use Green's thrusters to pull her out of the ground, and turned on cloaking whenever a patrol neared. Pidge had been awake the entirety of the two days and the exhaustion was beginning to catch up to her.

Pidge could run all the way to Green's hiding place beneath the trees purely thanks to adrenaline that coursed through her veins.

Pidge arrived just as the Green Lion shimmered back into view, opening up the trap doors on her underside. Pidge jet packed inside, wishing that, not for the first time, that the Green Lion could open up her jaw alas, they would have to wait to get back to the castle to have it repaired. Thank God for Coran's grandfather, who thought to put a lion-repairing machine inside one of the hangers.

Pidge made her way to the cockpit, where she discovered Hunk at her computer and Lance sprawled on the floor, sleeping. Pidge drew up the blankets that covered him to his shoulders, biting the inside of her lip.

"Welcome back." Hunk greeted her, glancing at the bucket she carried with her.

"Thanks. I got a collection of berries that the native animals were eating. I hope they're not poisonous."

"We could do without your blunt attitude." Hunk pointed out, plopping one berry in his moth.

"Yeah, yeah." Pidge grumbled, snarling. The pain in Pidge's arm was getting worse. Fortunately, in her eyes at least, the others didn't know she was injured, so she was able to go more freely and they didn't worry about her as much, allowing her to care for their wounds.

"You okay?"

"I had to dodge three patrols while I was out." Pidge sighed. "I'm just a little worn out, is all."

"You work too much. Sleep. I can take care of things until you wake up."

"No." Pidge shook her head. "I would much rather stay awake just in case anything happened."

"Once Lance wakes up, I INSIST you go to bed." Hunk glared, giving her the stink eye.

"I'm fine."

"I know for a fact you are most certainly not." Hunk snorted, mirth crossing his face for a few ticks. "These last two nights, I've woken up off and on about ten times each night. TEN TIMES, Pidge. And each time, you've been sitting at the computer or fixing some part of Green. Sometimes you won't be in this room at all, but I can hear you working away at another part of Green. You've never been asleep."

"I've TRIED, but I keep on getting worried about what could go wrong! What if the Galra come when we're sleeping?!"

"Then we have the cloaking device on all night long."

"What if the others arrive? And they try to call us and none of us are awake, so that we can't call it them back?!"

"Then one of us, THAT'S NOT YOU is awake all night long. Maybe Lance and I take shifts. I mean, you do all the work, we should be able to help in some way!"

"You already do by making sure Green doesn't over exert herself." Pidge protested.

"Look, Lance and I'll take care of everything tonight, okay?" Hunk decided, blinking at her as he thoughtfully watched her. "Then you can stay up for a few more days. Then we'll take over again. Sound good?"

"Once Lance wakes up, fine." Pidge sighed, crossing her arms. "Five hours, got it? Then you wake me up."

"Twelve. After Twelve hours you'll be completely rested."

"Five."

"Okay. How about, we just let you sleep for however long your body needs."

"Mm…fiiiiiiiine." Pidge grumbled, defeated.

"Also; I haven't seen you eat in…well, since we received this mission." Hunk pointed out, making Pidge feel a fleeting moment of disappointment that he had noticed. "You go, grab a bowl from the Lion's kitchen, and you come right back and fill it with these berries."

Pidge rolled her eyes, but she did as she was told.

"I'm going to eat these while working on Green's weapon systems." Pidge told him, and Hunk, grouchily, gave his permission.

Pidge, however, didn't eat it. She put it in the bucket she would use tomorrow, thus giving herself a head start. She couldn't bring herself to eat, instead working with an empty bowl beside her, lest Hunk came in to make sure she ate.

 _My Paladin_. Green cooed, her presence feeling like a blanket covering Pidge. _Another patrol is coming._

"Thanks for the heads up." Pidge grunted, pulling her off out of the alcove. Several of the wires in there were connected to the cloaking device, and would probably spark just slightly, thus electrocuting Pidge.

Once the danger was clear, Pidge ducked her head back into the space. If she can just finish with these, she should be able to repair the tracker and send out a signal to the castle. Why, oh, WHY couldn't she had ended up crashing onto another trash nebula?

* * *

Pidge opened her eyes, her arm throbbed, she hastened to grab a pain killer, spotting Hunk slouched in the backed up pilot seat and Lance bent over the computer.

She sat up numbly, swallowing the pill in one gulp, rubbing one eye.

"You should be asleep." Lance said, turning towards her curiously, cocking one eyebrow.

"Yeah, well, I woke up." Pidge snorted. "I'm going to work on Green."

"Wait." Lance interrupted, and and Pidge let out a light groan. "You did eat the food Hunk gave you, right?"

"Yes." Pidge lied, blinking. "Why?"

"Earlier I saw our other bucket with berries in it. You weren't supposed to use it until tomorrow."

Pidge froze, her chest squeezing. "W…well…I have a good excuse." She stammered, her quick mind flashing. "The bucket was mostly full when I brought it back, so I decided to put the extra berries in the other bucket to help limit our rations."

Lance didn't look like he completely believed her, but he nodded knowingly. "Makes sense."

Pidge was about to move again when his voice stopped her.

"How old are you, again?"

"I'll be sixteen this year…why?"

"So. Fifteen." Lance sighed, closing his eyes in concentration. "You're…you're shouldering a lot of responsibility. Taking care of Hunk and I… but can I ask you to do one last thing?"

"Depends." Pidge smirked, cocking her head.

"Take care of yourself, m'kay?" Lance asked, placing his hands on her shoulders. "You're doing so good at tending to us that…that…I'm afraid that you're neglecting your own needs."

"I'm fine." Pidge brushed him off, turning away. She didn't need to look at him to know that he bore his hurt expression, and she felt a squeeze in her chest. "But of course I'll take care of myself, silly." She felt, rather then saw, his face relax into a gentle smile.

"Good." He whispered. "Hunk and I are both capable of taking care of ourselves if the need arose, Pidge. So you can take all the time you need to freshen up in you need to."

"Thanks, Lance." Pidge sighed with relief. It made her feel good to know that Lance and Hunk both cared enough for her to urge her to tend to her daily needs, but she still couldn't muster up enough strength to eat or sleep more then a few hours. They needed her. "I'll be fine, though. Green is more urgent then sleep right now."

"You sure?"

"Yep! I already wasted three hours sleeping, might as well get on with the day!"

"It IS technically the morning…" Lance agreed, glancing at the clock on her desktop screen, which read 1:03 AM. "Actually, I probably should wake Hunk up for his shift."

"Go ahead." Pidge nodded, waving him on as she exited the room. Lance was right; she needed to take care of herself. A shower was in order, but should she save the water for something else, or just risk the chance? The regular tracker was almost repaired, so should she spend her time on that, or on checking the necessary features? Should she eat the berries, or save them for the others to eat?

Pidge sunk down against the wall, burying her face in her hands. There were so many things she needed to tend to, and so many decisions to make! And…and…she didn't have the will to do it. _Oh, Shiro…_ Pidge whimpered, sinking until she sat completely on the ground. _Everyone is expecting me to take care of them, but there are too many variables! How did you manage it?!_

The Paladins had talked about finding a replacement for the Black Lion once or twice in the past, and Pidge always gone with it, saying that perhaps she would like to. But honestly, she didn't understand how Shiro did it. It seemed that half of the decisions for the team rested on her shoulders, and, although she didn't complain, she felt burdened, dragged underneath their expectations. She always tried to stay strong for their sake, but it was hard. It was hard acting brave when her father and brother were taken, but now…now that Shiro was gone, too, she dissolved so much more easily. When everyone disappeared to their beds at nighttime, she often wailed, breaking into tears. She felt someone nearby nearly every time, but, when she looked, she saw nobody.

 _Shiro, where are you? I need you so badly…_

Tears stained her eyes, and she had to flee from the hallway before someone heard her.

* * *

Keith groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. He only had to look for a little longer, then he could head back to the Castle. And then he'd receive another possible location from Pidge, and he'd head out again…

The Red Lion's coms beeped, making him raise his head curiously. What in tarnation was it this time?! Keith pushed the button that turned them on, resisting a sigh. "Yeah? What?"

"Keith!" Allura's voice broke through the coms, cracking as if she had been crying. "We need to to come back to the castle! The Paladins' signal just went dead!"

"What do you mean?" Keith asked, turning around Red. "What happened?"

"They…they…"

"Deep breaths, Princess."

Allura inhaled deeply, then exhaled. When she spoke again, there was only a tiny waver. "They went on an information-gathering trip. Their signal cut out temporarily when they went in, but I thought nothing of it at the time. But we haven't regained communication since, and the Green Lion's signal cut off about a day ago. It's too dangerous to go in to look for it without the lions, for the Galra ship hasn't moved since, but is still online."

"And you're just now thinking of contacting me?!"

"Of course not!" Allura snorted at his inquiry. "You're too far out for us to have a proper link with you."

"I'm coming back." Keith told her, pressing a few buttons on his dash board.

"Understood." There was a rustling sound in the background, and Allura signed off of the link.

"Crap." Keith hissed. "Shoulda asked her to open up a wormhole." He flipped Red onto auto-pilot, standing up to stretch his legs. Everything was falling into shambles around him; how much longer until Allura and Coran disappeared, too?!


	11. Be Wherever You Are Part 3

**Author's note;**

 **Suggestion by bigtimedreamer101 who stated; It would be cool to see a story where Pidge and Lance get stranded somewhere, maybe with Hunk.**

 **This is also partly dedicated to my friends erebororbust, TheSilverHunt3r, and Anne Sai, because of the minor Plance inside this chapter. I love you guys, even though I'm grumpy that I did this. *humph***

 **Takes place between Season 2 Episode 13, AKA Blackout and Season 3 Episode 1, AKA Changing of the Guard.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Pidge was so, SO tired. They had been stuck on this Godforsaken planet for a week now, and, even though Green was in her natural biome, and had already completely recharged, her mega thrusters, which were needed to break the planet's atmosphere, were in bad shape. Without Hunk, there wasn't much Pidge could do, except wait. His leg was almost healed to the point where it caused him no pain, but he still limped something awful, and Pidge didn't want it to get even the slightest bit injured or infected.

Pidge groaned, whipping away the oil on her hands.

She glanced up at the time on her suit's clock, frowning when she saw that it was about time for her to stop. The boys would be expecting her back at any point…

Pidge sighed as she stood, her Lion rumbling inquisitively in my mind. _Is my Paladin done repairing Green?_

"No. Just taking a little break." She assured her, stretching. "And maybe a nap."

Green seeming frowned at Pidge. _And will my Paladin eat?_

"I'll eat when we get back to the Castle, but not when we have limited-"

 _YOU'LL STRAVE_! Green wailed.

"Don't give me that sass, Green." Pidge hissed, climbing out of the turbo engines. She'd repair what she could for now, of course. "I can take care of myself, and I KNOW my limits. I can survive longer then a week without food. Or sleep. I read that the longest a human ever stayed awake without dying was eleven days. If that person managed to pull that off, so can I."

 _Stop doing this to yourself,_ My Paladin. Green pleaded, her worry rippling across the bond. _Red and Yellow's Paladins are more then capable of fending for themselves._

"I know that, but-" Pidge froze in her decent away from the Lion's engine. "Wait, did you just say 'Red's Paladin'?"

 _Apologies. I was thinking of Blue's Paladin, and forgot his color_. Green admitted guiltily _._

"Okay." Pidge agreed, though worry pulsed in her chest. If Green, the mighty, immortal Lion forgot Lance's color, she must be in worse shape then Pidge thought. "I'll get back to you soon." Pidge promised Green, feeling the ground beneath her feet. This time, she didn't have to worry about the fighters; they hadn't come for a full quintent, probably searching elsewhere.

Pidge climbed into the underbelly door of the Green Lion, her stomach rumbling and her entire body screaming in protest. She really had to eat.

Pidge headed over to where they normally stored the bowls, finding one to use as she headed over to the bucket of berries. She filled it with two handfuls. She could survive on two handfuls a week. She could.

Lance waved at her as he went to the cockpit for his shift, and she gave him a small salute as she stuffed her cheeks with berries.

Lance blinked at her chipmunk impression, then laughed. "Pidge! Normally you're not so chipper."

"Yeah, well…" Pidge paused to chew and swallow the berries, gulping them down. "I'm in a good mood."

"Dude. Just earlier today you were yelling at us." Lance snorted. "One of the perks of being a teenager, I suppose."

"Fair point." Pidge frowned. "Now allow me to be SAD."

"Ha, ha." Lance chuckled, shaking his head. "We need some more laughs right now. How…how long do you think it'll take for Keith and Allura and Coran to get us?"

"I don't know." Pidge admitted quietly. "I wish I did, but I don't."

"However long it is, I don't want to wait much longer. Hunk and I need pods, and you need to get more nourishment, and stop giving up your share for us."

Pidge grunted in response, unwilling to answer. So they had BOTH noticed.

"And you should sleep. Hunk and I have been counting; it's been two days since you last slept. It's not healthy, and it won't be long before you begin hallucinating."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I just…I'll drop off eventually. We all know I will, I-"

"You'll hurt yourself. More then you already are."

"What?" Pidge gapped, instinctively grabbing her injured arm.

"Oh, come ON, Pidge. You think I didn't notice? I saw you get shot in the arm, and you've been preferring your right arm in favor to your dominant left hand. It's so PAINFULLY obvious."

"Does…" Pidge hesitated, biting her lip. "Does Hunk know?"

"I dunno. We've never talked about it." Lance picked up a water bottle, handing it to her as he sat down. "Hey…you okay?"

"I don't want you two to worry about me." Pidge murmured. "It's bad enough that you have yourselves to worry about, you don't need a little girl to fall apart at your feet, too."

"Yeah, well…" Lance sighed, grabbing his own water bottle as he took a large chug from it. "You're just a kid. You don't need two injured boys to take care of. But that's exactly what you have. I know it was just a graze, but…" Lance sighed, leaning back against the wall. "I feel so helpless. I know that's it's important, staying at the stations and making sure no patrols are coming by, and to be able to respond to transmissions the Castle might send but…you're doing all the heavy lifting, y'know?"

"Yeah." Pidge nodded quietly. "I know."

"It's okay to be human, Pidge. We all have faults, and it's okay to let down your guard to your friends. To drop your mask sometimes."

"I don't really know how to have friends." Pidge admitted, holding the water bottle to her chest. "Before Voltron, I was just the nerd at school. The kid who was physically weak and could easily be picked on. Somebody the teachers wouldn't care if they were bullied, because they were smart aleccs and needed to be shut up. I had Matt, but it wasn't the same." Pidge sighed, closing her eyes.

"I was the youngest of my entire family for several years. I think I was…" Lance shut one eye as he thought, his open eye rolling towards the ceiling, "probably eleven when my cousin was born. My brother, Marcus, was two years older then me, and he had Louis to mess around with, and so Veronica was my own playmate, since she, too, didn't have anyone to talk with. She was a teenager, so it was fun hanging out with the 'older kid'. But it was hard, growing up in Cuba before it had it's revaluation."

Pidge quickly did the math. "You were thirteen when it became a Capitalist country."

"That I was. I've always been thankful that Carlos was too young to remember the war…all the bombs…" Lance shuddered. "I just miss them, y'know?"

"I'm probably the person on the team that understands the most."

Pidge murmured.

"Yeesh, sorry, didn't mean to tread there…"

"No, it's fine. I needed to talk it out." Pidge told him, raising the water bottle to her lips. There was silence as both of them chugged the water down, until Pidge held it victoriously above his head. "Ha, ha! I won!"

"No, I won!" Lance argued, showing her his empty bottle.

"I won first! Admit it, I'm the Queen of Chuggington!"

"Yeah, and I'm the King! The King is more powerful then the queen!"

"Not is chess!" Pidge teased, on her feet and running from the room, both water bottles suddenly in hand.

"Why, you-!" Lance shrieked, reacting a little too late as he stumbled to his feet to run after her.

Pidge giggled, hurrying into the cockpit.

Hunk raised his head, surprise lighting up his face as she shoved a empty bottle into his hand, whispered, "hide this," and ran out again at top speed.

He heard Lance let out a battle cry, hurrying, or, rather, limping after Pidge.

Hunk laughed, tossing the bottle into the garbage dispenser all the Lions had, returning to the computer. He could wait until they were done messing around to get a break. It wasn't often they could horse around.

* * *

"I think you have to connect those two wires." Keith told Allura, helping her guide the mice through the control panel.

"Those serve to different purposes! How would we track the Green Lion using THEM?!" Allura protested, glaring at Keith.

"Pidge is a tricky person. Also, I don't really remember everything she told me to do if I wanted to connect with the emergency tracker. But I'm still our best shot at finding them."

Allura grumpily agreed, the mice obeying her brain waves and connecting the two wires.

"The Galra battle cruiser moved to a different part of the planet, Princess." Coran informed them, leaning over them. "Shall we go down to the surface to look for the Green Lion?"

"Prepare the Red Lion to launch. We're almost done here…and…there!" A screen popped up in front of Coran's console board, and he jumped over, instantly flipping through it busily. "Ah! The Castle has picked up on a signal coming from the planet."

"Excellent!" Allura clapped. "It may be the Green Lion!"

"It doesn't hold the Lion's energy signature." Coran warned.

"The emergency tracker runs on a power separate from the Lions. I think." Keith frowned. "She said something about 'artificial power' so I assume that's what she meant."

"Excellent!" Allura smiled. "Let's go in the Red Lion."

"I'm sorry, Princess, did you say 'let's' as in plural?"

"Stop having a problem with me tagging along." Allura sniffed.

"Last time we went on a mission where you 'tagged along' you got captured, and it nearly cost us our lives to get you back!"

"Humph." Allura snorted. "Well, this time, it's less dangerous. I'm coming with you, no exceptions."

"Great." Keith grumbled, heading for the zip-line tube. "See you down there."

Allura was out of the room in a flash, probably going to get changed, get her hair into her classic bun, and then rush down into the hanger.

Keith had to wait for nearly five doboshes before she arrived, grabbing his seat for support and glancing down kindly at him.

He glanced up at her, his face stiff, and she felt sadness. Was this how he felt when she had shunned him for being Galra?

Keith looked back at the screen in front of him, and said, nearly inaudible, "Thanks. I needed someone to come with me. I have no idea what I'll find on the ground, and if they're de- Um, if they're gone, I don't want to face it alone."

Allura knew what he had been about to say, and she bit the inside of her lip. Not gone as in 'they went somewhere else' but gone as in…well, now not even she wanted to mention it.

Keith brought the Red Lion to a halt a few miles away from the signal, in case it really wasn't coming from the Green Lion. They started off on foot.

* * *

"There's good news," Hunk told Lance and Pidge when they finally calmed down and stopped at the cockpit. "The big Galra ship moved, it's not longer in this area. That means that they think we got away to a different part of the planet. They have no idea we're just sitting here, in the same place!" Hunk grinned cheerfully, giving Pidge a thumbs up. "Nice going, Pidge."

"Thanks." Pidge smiled back. It had been her idea to stay in the same area to throw the Galra off, and, honestly, she was a little surprised that it had actually worked.

"Is there bad news?" Lance asked curiously. "'Cause, you know, good news is usually paired up with bad news…"

"Um…" Hunk glanced at the screen, skimming Green's systems to see if there WAS bad news. "Okay. I know you repaired them, like, yesterday, Pidge, but Green's long distance scanners are still on the fritz."

"That's not too terribly bad. I'll just fix 'em up right now." Pidge shrugged, turning to leave.

"That was just the buildup to the bad news."

"Oh." Pidge paused.

"Well? What is the bad news?" Lance asked, looking over Hunk's shoulder. He couldn't understand all the gibberish on the screen, so he waited patiently for his best friend to tell him what the problem was.

"Green sensed something approaching her; it's a few miles off, so we haven't gotten any specifics, but it looks like two humanoid shapes are coming for us." Hunk told them, frowning. "I'll bet anything that they're sentries. We need to prepare."

"Right." Pidge nodded, pressing the 'C' on her keyboard that instantly turned on the cloaking device. "Okay, get on your complete set of armor." She told them, slipping on her arms' armor. She tried to suppress the wince that emanated from her as it pressed against her left arm's skin, but to little avail.

Lance glanced at her arm for only a brief moment, but she got the gist, giving him a cocky smile. He nodded as he pulled on his leg armor, wincing and growling quietly as it bent around his injured leg. Hunk had the same reaction to his own wound, but disguised his pain a little better then Lance and Pidge did. All three of them crammed on their helmets, blinking a bit as their world turned slightly blue.

"Alrighty." Pidge smiled, all teeth. "Let's do this."

"We should hide throughout the lion." Hunk decided. "The cloaking may fail, though it hasn't yet. If it does, we want to be scarce."

"Dibs on the kitchen!" Lance grinned, waving his hand.

Both of the others glanced at him in annoyance.

"What? I'm hungry." He frowned, jutting out his lip at them.

Pidge sighed, shaking her head. "Promise you'll stop eating if ANYONE enters; and that you'll hide while you eat?"

"Of course! I'm not an idiot!" Lance pouted.

"I wanted to go into the kitchen." Hunk whined.

"Guys, this it isn't a game of hide and seek." Pidge frowned. "This is probably a freedom or life-in-prison scenario. Or, you know, life or death."

"Why are you so calm about DEATH?!" Hunk blinked, eyes huge as he stared at the younger paladin a third his size.

"BECAUSE death is just a natural part of life. When you die, you get to meet God, and you get your eternal punishment for how you lived your life."

"Um…dark." Lance deadpanned.

"Or, you know, reward." Pidge shrugged. _You also get to meet your loved ones who are deceased._ Pidge mused. _Shiro…Dad…Matt…if they're dead. And let's face it. They probably are. Just like we're soon going to be…_

Pidge snapped to attention suddenly, blinking as Hunk waved his hand in front of her face.

"-idge? PIDGE! Snap out of it!"

"Gaah-! Sorry, sorry…" Pidge apologized, ducking her head. "Got distracted…"

"Yeah. Zoned out. Again." Lance huffed. "You do that a lot, lately."

"I'll be fine." Pidge frowned, then the corners of her mouth twitched. "First one to hide wins!" Pidge charged out of the room, unwilling to continue the conversation.

* * *

Keith and Allura crept along, the former in the lead as he peaked over bushes. Allura was crouching low, following him as silently as she could as he paused at random moments to peek over the foliage.

"Okay." Keith whispered, looking over a bush. "Yikes. Allura. Look at this."

Allura crept up beside him, staring in shock. "Oh my." She uttered, staring in shock.

In front of them was a huge crater, probably a quarter-mile around in all directions, even in depth. There were the Green Lion's paw prints in a few places, and there was dust that occasionally rose from the ground and settled down again. There was a huge hole at the bottom, probably where the Green Lion had landed when it first crashed, ash encircling it. Currently the hole was empty, and there was no sign of the Green Lion.

"Allura," Keith pointed to the bush in front of him. Allura glanced at it, and noticed that it was covered in red berries. "And look at that bush." He said, gesturing to one about ten meters off. The latter was picked nearly completely clean, only a few rotten berries left on. "They're the same kind of bush." He told her, glancing at the leaves and berries to confirm his suspicions.

"So?" Allura asked, although she was beginning to see his point.

"That one is barren, while this one isn't." Keith told her, frowning as he stuck a berry from the bush in his mouth. "Hmm. Minty."

"Maybe the native animals are the berries on that one." Allura suggested as a monkey-like animal landed on the bush they were on. "See? There's one now." It blinked at them with it's red eyes, then leaped away. In moments, it's black fur turned green and it was gone.

"Why would they eat the berries on that one then leave this one?" Keith inquired. "Besides, animals aren't choosy. They would've taken the rotten ones anyway."

"That means-!"

"-somebody, who is sentient like us, was here!" Keith grinned, nodding his head. "The others might not be dead!"

"Excellent!" Allura clapped her hands, smiling. "We will find them; I know we will!"

Keith nodded curtly, his face reverting back to its normal blank look.

They began to walk to the other side of the crater when suddenly Keith gasped, stumbling back into Allura.

"Oh! What in Alfor's beard?" Allura trembled, Keith jumping off her.

"Ack! Sorry, I just…" Keith turned back the direction he had been facing, frowning. "What in the-?"

"What is it?" Allura asked, crouching as she gazed at Keith.

"Watch. It looks like…" Keith squinted, and Allura saw it, too. Every few seconds, a small chunk of green hovered in the air for a quarter of a tick, then vanished from sight. The sun, which was behind them, continually reflected off something a hundred meters in front of them, reflecting onto their chest plates.

"Is that…?" Allura murmured, glancing at Keith.

"Yeah. I think so." Keith responded, blinking as the green appeared and vanished again. "I'll go check it out, stay here."

"Understood."

Keith crept up, and, navigating by touch, he eventually found the doorway to the hanger, leaping up.

Allura and Keith both turned on their coms, Keith the first to speak.

"It is the Green Lion." Keith told her. "But she doesn't look good. all her lights are off, and nothing's even moving. If the others are here, they must be hurt pretty badly."

"Proceed with caution."

Allura told him. "I'm sure we'll find that at least one of them is alive." I hope!

Inside the lion, Keith nodded at her instructions. "Understood. Commencing radio silence." He crept through the lion, his feet hardly echoing in the corridors. The cockpit was empty…that wasn't a good sign. The entire front of the lion was caved in, undoubtedly from the…crash…oh, dear gosh no. Keith raced to the front of the lion, checking the ripped and broken metal for signs of blood. When he found none, he breathed a sigh of relief. At least Pidge didn't get speared through here. He glanced back at the pilot's seat. Good. Green had moved it back, undoubtedly to keep her safe. No sign of death yet. Keith headed into the emergency storage closet, pursing his lips when he found a few boxes were over turned, their contents scattered. Keith rummaged through them, finding that many of the packets had been ripped open, litter scattering the ground.

Keith felt his heart clench as he made out the words 'burn cream' and 'painkillers'. What the ruggle happened here?

Keith picked his way out of the room, making his way slowly through out the lion. As he walked along, he could have sworn he heard something. Something that wasn't him. He froze, and the sound stopped, too. But just a mili second after him. He wasn't alone. Keith cocked his head, taking a step forward. He heard it again, slightly louder. It sounded like it was coming from…Keith whipped out his Bayard, stabbing it into the closet beside him.

Keith smirked when he heard the intruder gasp in shock, obviously terrified that a sword had made its way into its hiding spot. Keith had made sure not to stab the intruder, but that didn't mean he would in the future.

Using one hand, he shoved the door open, turning to stare at the intruder. Instead, he got a katar thrust towards his neck, threatening to kill him if he moved.

Keith recognized the green glow emanating from it, and he whispered; "Pidge?"

Keith's sword and Pidge's Bayard both disappeared at the same time, and the two Paladins took a few seconds to stare at each other.

"Keith…" Pidge whispered, blinking at him in shock.

"Pidge." Keith echoed, smiling at her. "You're okay!" Keith kneeled down, and Pidge threw her arms around him, Keith clutching her back.

"Hunk," Pidge said into her coms at last, pulling away from Keith, "Lance. Keith's here."

"What happened to the patrol?" Keith heard Hunk's voice say through the coms.

"I think Keith WAS the patrol." Pidge responded. "Head back to the bridge. Keith and I'll meet you there."

Keith turned on his radio once Pidge shut her's off, waiting for Allura to say his name before jumping in.

"Allura. Everyone's fine. They're here and safe." Keith told her, glancing at Pidge, who gave him a confident thumbs-up.

"Hallelujah." Allura murmured. "I'm coming into the Green Lion."

"Okay." Keith agreed, turning back to Pidge. "Let's shut off the cloaking and turn on the lights, huh?"

"Hear that, Green?" Pidge asked, and the lights flickered on, both Paladins feeling the lion's joy. "Thanks for finding us, Keith." Pidge beamed, then, added in a teasing tone, "even if it did take you a full week to do it."

"If only finding Shiro were that easy." Keith huffed.

"We'll do that together, won't we?" Pidge asked, punching his arm.

"Yeah. Yeah, we will." Keith hugged her tightly, relieved that everyone was safe.


	12. Lion Got Your Tongue?

Lion Got Your Tongue?

* * *

 **Suggestion by maggiehhillman, who commented; You could do a chapter about autism, specifically asperger syndrome.**

 **Since it seems to apply to Pidge.**

 **Takes place in the second season. Exact time line unknown.**

 **!Also, I fixed it. I know for a fact that some people were offended by this, so I tried to fix it. If anyone has any problems, I'll gladly try to change it.!**

* * *

Pidge had asperger syndrome.

Pidge's parents had known. Matt had known. Her cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents had known.

But the Paladins did not, and Pidge was determined to keep it that way.

She knew, she really did, that it wasn't something to be ashamed up, but she felt nervous whenever she thought about it.

She knew other people had it, of course, she had overheard some of the collage level kids talking about it.

Of course, Pidge hadn't meant to overhear, but, while her disorder might make her social skills not the best, it also heightened her awareness and her brains, helping her skip several years of school.

Yet, Voltron was this figure of power, freeing entire planets in a single battle. They were supposed to be able meet their comrades, go down and shake their hands. Talk to the local citizens. After all, they weren't celebrities that were above the people they saved. They were huma- er, sentient beings, just like them.

Pidge couldn't bring herself to do that. Somehow, a little voice in her head whispered that she made too big of a deal about her disorder, and that, really, it didn't effect her to much.

Voltron wasn't supposed to shy away and hide behind their peers, or just stand there and nod. They were supposed to announce to the universe; 'That's right! We're back, and we're coming for YOU, Zarkon!'

But Pidge couldn't bring herself to talk to people. All that ever happened was that she began to get fidgety and sweaty. Sure, she could talk to people about tech just fine, but when they were just supposed to answer the aliens' prying questions, there was nothing she could do but nod or shake her head.

After the second time this came about her, Shiro took her aside.

"Is everything all right?" He asked, looking her up and down. "You just shut down back there."

"I'm fine." Pidge grunted, taking a step back. "I'm just tired."

'Just TELL him!' The little voice pleaded. 'He'll understand.'

"Then maybe you should actually sleep at night." Shiro joked, smiling fondly at her before abruptly turning serious again. "Take care of yourself, m'kay?"

"Yeah. Okay." Pidge nodded, turning to walk away. She could feel Shiro's eyes burning into her skull as she left, his curiosity rippling across the Paladin bond.

Pidge was relieved when she found herself alone in her room, changing hurriedly into her everyday clothes. She honestly wanted to talk to someone about her disorder. But…Lance would be stunned, not knowing what an 'syndrome' was, nor a 'asperger' for that matter. Hunk wouldn't understand, just be fidgety for a while when he was around her, because he wouldn't know how to act. Keith, Pidge was fairly certain, didn't have the disorder, and he hated talking to people. However, He would be one of her better bets. Shiro, all in all, was probably the safest bet.

Pidge sighed at the thought, picking up one of the fluff balls she had recovered from the trash nebula. The rest hovered about her head, chirping questioningly.

"I'm fine." She told them, despite having communication issues with them. She was mostly guessing at their words. "Just…tired, you know? And…yeah." She frowned down at them, then lowering her voice slightly. "Can you three keep a secret?"

Their cheeks flashed.

Pidge could have sworn she had a slight creak outside her door, so she paused before continuing, tilting her head.

After two minutes and fifty-six seconds, she knew because she had a mental clock thanks to the pro of the asperger syndrome she turned back to them. "I have…well, asperger syndrome. It's not too serious, but…gosh." Pidge shook her head. "I really want to hide it, but I…don't at the same time. It's tricky. I know it isn't really a 'weakness' per say, but I don't want to deal with the slightest possibility they'll look down at me for it." She shook her head mournfully, before switching to her playful side. "Now, remember, guys, that you promised not to tell."

They chirped again.

"Candy, I know you're friends with Lance, but I swear, I will make your life miserable if you tell him anything." Pidge teased, tapping the blue one on top of his head.

The Blue one chirped.

There was a knock on her door, and she squeaked, adjusting her glasses. "Come in!"

The door open, revealing Hunk, wearing his apron. "Lunch is ready!"

"Already? We just got home!"

"I put it in the oven when we left. It's amazing how the oven can read the temperatures on the food and turn off when it reaches the proper heat."

"Yeah, I'll bet." Pidge grinned, pushing herself to her feet.

"How's Dandelion doing?" Hunk asked, scratching the yellow floof-ball's underside. "Eating well?"

"She literally eats junk!" Pidge shrugged. "She has plenty to eat in my room."

"One day, Dandelion, I'm going to get you some real food. Not just garbage." Hunk sneered at Pidge, though the humor was evident on his face.

"Hey! FYI, Dandelion likes garbage!" Pidge protested, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, well, I'll make her something else sometime. Now, you comin' or what?"

"Fine." Pidge grunted, trailing after him, leaving her floof-friends behind.

"So…were you okay during our meeting? You were kinda quiet. Well, more then usual."

"I was fine." Pidge assured him, cocking her head as she stated down at her firsts. "I just…" her mind rushed, trying to remember the excuse she had given Shiro. "I was tired is all."

"You sure?" Hunk asked, squinting his eyes. "Even when you're tired you-no, scratch that. You operate best when you're tired."

"Yeah, well…" Pidge shrugged. "It doesn't really matter."

Hunk paused, turning her with one hand to face him. Setting his hands on her shoulders, he gazed into her brown eyes. "Pidge, it does matter. This is the second time in a row you've shut down. Is there something wrong? You gotta tell us, dude."

"I'm completely fine." Pidge protested, wrenching her shoulders from his grip. "I don't want to talk about it, alright?"

Hunk looked hurt, like a sad puppy dog as he took a pathetic step back and stared at her.

"I-I mean…Hunk, I'm sorry." Pidge shook her head sadly. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Don't worry about it, man." Hunk grinned, though it looked like a mask. "It's cool."

"Hunk, I-"

"Let's get to dinner." Hunk, in a very un-hunky way interrupted, walking away.

"I…" Pidge stammered, but Hunk didn't pause, continuing to walk away.

Pidge trailed slowly after him, eyes on her feet.

By the time they arrived, everyone was already there, awaiting them expectantly.

Shiro said Grace, and they began in on the meal.

It tasted like spaghetti, but Pidge hardly noticed. She actually was tired, it was true. She had been telling the truth to an extend…though it hadn't been the reason she had zoned out so much during the meeting.

Fatigue was a rare-ish accompaniment of asperger syndrome. For some people it was a 24/7 case, but for Pidge it was quite uncommon for it to happen, and only after large social gathering that really tested her mingling skills did it cause her to plummet.

She has slept before the meeting, hoping to fend it off, but it didn't help much.

Especially since, after fatigue began to take hold of her, it took large steps.

Already she could hardly hold on to the conversation echoing around her. She usually did so well paying attention.

"-ifty feet off-!"

"-ro!"

"-zzzz-en-!"

"-ah! Wh-"

There was a few minutes where there was just a fuzzy ringing in Pidge's head.

'Don't slip into unconsciousness.' Pidge told herself sternly. She really had to tell everyone.

"-idge? Pidge!" A voice was close to her ear, shouting her name.

"What-?" Pidge dropped the hands that had been cradled over her head, blinking.

Keith was staring at her in alarm, one hand on her back, eyes narrowed in confusing. "Pidge, are you okay?"

The others also were there, nervously blinking at her.

"Yeah." Pidge nodded sleepily. "I'm good."

"Pidge, you should go to bed." Shiro said, standing over her. "You've been acting out of it since the meeting began."

"Alright." Pidge nodded. Yeah, that sounded fine to her.

Everyone was staring in shock, mouths agape.

Pidge could even hear Green moan in worry.

"Pidge? What's going on?" Lance asked, grabbing her elbow when she rose to go.

"Mmm." Pidge mumbled, not in the mood. "Tired."

"Oh, holy crow."

"Something's up with Pidge!"

"Pidge, what's wrong?"

"Pidge!"

"Guys." Keith's voice was thoughtful, quiet, but it immediately gained everyone's attention.

"Keith." Shiro said, gently. "Do you know what's going on with her?"

"Let's get her into the infirmary. Pidge, can you walk?" Keith asked, gesturing at Lance to help her up.

Pidge nodded, standing up. She swayed slightly in exhaustion, blinking fuzzily at the ground.

"Alright, follow me." Keith instructed, heading out the door.

At least, Pidge thought he did. She was too tired to really care.

She hardly noticed that Lance was still holding onto her elbow until she tripped, Lance pulling her back onto her feet in a solid movement, Shiro placing one hand on her shoulder.

She must have zoned out, because when she got enough will power to force herself to pay attention to her surroundings, she was sitting down on one of the infirmary beds. She leaned against something, too delirious to understand that it was a human shoulder.

She heard a snicker, but closed her tired eyes. Stupid fatigue…

Shiro tried to ignore it when Pidge fell asleep on his shoulder, turning his attention to Keith instead.

"Alright, Keith, what have you got?"

"It's called asperger syndrome." Keith told them, crossing his arms. "Did anyone notice how quiet she was at today's meeting?"

"Yes."

"Uh-huh."

"No." Everyone turned to glare at Lance.

"What?"

"Whatever. Anyway, asperger syndrome is a disorder that effects someone's social skills. As of late, it's become quite uncommon, but-"

"Wait, wait, wait. How do you know how much about this…aspejagu snodrum?"

"Asperger syndrome."

"Right, that."

"Do you know what my dad was?"

"Uh…an abusive parent?"

"What? No. Why would you think that?"

"Because you're always so grumpy."

"People can be mad without abusive parents, Lance!"

"Technically 'parent', you know, since your mother abandoned you when-"

"Alright, shut up. My dad was a firefighter, and he taught me about a bunch of medical treatments and how to fend myself against disorders, injuries, diseases-"

"Really? Why didn't you just get vaccines?"

"Dad didn't trust 'em. Basically, my Dad taught me a lot since I was mostly by myself in our house while he was at work. Then, when he died-"

"Oh, that's why you're so grumpy!"

"-I taught myself a bunch of other stuff. Does that answer your question, Lance?"

"Um, yeah. But…"

"What now?!"

"Why's she so tired? I'm pretty sure she actually slept last night."

"So, sometimes asperger syndrome can include fatigue, which is also pretty rare nowadays."

"Fatigue is basically extreme exhaustion, Lance." Hunk told his best friend.

"Ooh. Okay." Lance nodded.

"Right. Well, sometimes when they're accompanied, the exhaustion can act up after social interaction. It can vary from a dobosh after such an event to five Vargas after."

"Oh, my Quiznak. Just use English measurements." Lance groaned, shaking his head.

"One minute to six hours."

"Is there a cure?" Lance asked, glancing sideways at Pidge.

Keith snickered at this. "It's not a 'disease' Lance. It's called a 'disorder'. It doesn't need a cure. What she needs is a way to make her feel more comfortable around people, help her feel more at ease."

"Well, she seems fine when she's talking about tech." Hunk noted.

"That's it!" Lance snapped his fingers, and the others tried to suppress eyes rolls. Knowing him, he'd probably suggest taping Oreos to her eyes so she couldn't see that she was in a social setting. "What if we send her off with scientists during the meetings? You know, help connect with the people better without having to worry about the asperger. If that doesn't work we can ask her what else can make her more comfortable."

"That's-!" Keith protested before thinking about it again. "Actually a good idea. I'm surprised you payed attention long enough to put together that idea."

"Yeah, I know, right- Hey!"

Keith snickered at this.

Shiro nodded, smiling slightly. "Good idea, Lance. We'll try that next time."

With that, the matter was resolved.

* * *

 **Author's Note; when you make suggestions from now on, please keep away from diseases and disorders. I've found that I accidentally insult people when I include these, especially when I get the two 'Ds' mixed up.**

 **From now on, please stick to dangerous situations and ships when you input your ideas.**

 **Thank you!**


	13. Burned

**Author's Notes;**

 **HAPPY ANNIVERSARY GRIFFTALON!**

 **GriffTalon suggested; Remember when we were talking about season six, and how Pidge had to have been burned when she was guiding Kuron's hand back to power the shield? Well, the prompt is a what if that had happened, and the real Shiro learning about it later? Not sure if that would be kinda short, but feel free to run with it.**

 **Set in Season 7, after The Fued, takes place in the night right before The Ruins.**

* * *

Shiro wasn't exactly sure what woke him up. It wasn't a nightmare; he usually woke up in a cold sweat from those. And if it wasn't a nightmare, he didn't wake up during the night, unless if he heard something unusual.

He lay awake for about a minute, trying to guess what he had heard. There was the gentle hum of the Green Lion's engines, the buzzing of flies that they had accidentally picked up from multiple planets, and the sound of creaking from the inner workings of the lion. She definitely needed repairs.

Just as Shiro determined that nothing was wrong and began to doze off, an unfamiliar noise came from the other half of the cargo bay. Scratch that, it was familiar, though it was extremely uncommon.

Pidge's whimpers arose from the opposite side of the pile of crates that divided the cargo hold into two bedrooms.

"Pidge?" Shiro asked, sitting up and making his way to the 'curtain' that served as a door. "You okay?"

He heard something that sounded like words of panic, and he trembled, grabbing the curtain. "Pidge, I'm coming in." He shoved it to the side, entering the room without caution.

He stared at Pidge, who was obviously trapped in a nightmare. She thrashed through her covers, beginning to break into sobs and screams.

"Pidge-!" He began to call, before pausing. If he woke her up, no doubt it would get worse. The best he could do was wait it out. Shiro dropped to his knees beside her and caressed the top of her hand, trying to ignore the way she jerked with every passing tick, screaming.

"-att!" She wailed, clawing at the wall.

Ah, right. She talked in her sleep.

"Stop it! Don't hurt him! No, no, go away…"

Her Bayard appeared in her hand as she racked it across her invisible victim, crying. "No…Matt…Matt…no, please…Matt…" she shook her head at the ceiling, pausing for a few minutes before pressing on. "It hurts…"

It took several seconds for Shiro to realize she was still sleeping, shaking her head. "Matt…no…don't leave…Matt!" Pidge shot straight up, blinking back tears as she sat there, gasping for breath. "No… please…"

"Katie…?" Shiro asked, touching her back lightly.

She stiffened, turning glassy eyes towards him.

She stayed silent for a nerve-racking second, staring into nothing, finally blinking in confusion when she realized who she was staring at.

"Shiro." She whispered, rubbing her eyes until they looked normal again.

"Hey, hey." Shiro soothed, beginning to rub circles into her spine. "Are you okay?"

Pidge was half way in the process of doing a nod when she hesitated, finally shaking her head. "No."

"Want to talk about it?"

Pidge tensed, her brown eyes searching his questioningly.

"Alright." Shiro sat down on the edge of the bed, letting Pidge lean against him. Her head was snuggled against his chest plate, whimpering softly.

"It's phantom pain." She finally admitted, shivering.

"What hurt you?" Shiro wondered aloud, rocking her gently.

"Lots of things." She admitted slowly, taking a shuddering breath. "But…tonight, I dreamed…Matt and I…it just…"

"Take a deep breath." Shiro ordered, stroking the hair from her face. "In…and out. That's right. Keep on going."

"Bounty Hunter." She finally gasped after following his instructions for about three doboshes. "When I found Matt, a Bounty Hunter followed me and attacked us. He had electric whips and w-we-we both got electrocuted and stuff until we managed to defeat him…I-I don't know about Matt but the whips burned my back, and…" Pidge whimpered, closing her eyes as she hiccuped sadly, shaking her head. "It still hurts sometimes."

"After three years?" Shiro asked, staring at the wall. Only a few days before Acxa had told them how long they had been missing, shocking everyone.

"Four years." Pidge whimpered. "It's been four years…"

"Has it ever healed, or is it purely phantom pain?"

"Scarred." Pidge choked, shuddering. "It scarred over."

"May…may I see?"

Pidge nodded briefly, pulling away. She pushed up the back of her shirt, though kept her front covered with the folds fabric on the front. "There; see?" She pointed, tracing the scar with her finger. "The bounty hunter gave me this."

"Pidge, I-" that's when Shiro noticed the other dozen scars on her back, taking notice of the dark bruises also on her back, and gazed at them in a mix of shock and horror. He didn't recall her ever mentioning being even a little hurt to any of them, and his clone had very good hearing. (Which made him all the better for spying, though Shiro hated to admit it.)

Pidge seemed to realize he noticed the dilemma of the situation and jerked back, letting her shirt fall back into its proper place.

"Oh my gosh." Shiro breathed, staring into her tired eyes. "Pidge, what in the…?"

"I-I…" Pidge trailed off, shaking her head. "You weren't supposed to see that."

"What made those wounds?" Shiro asked gently, resisting the instinct to unleash all his anger out upon those who dared touch her.

"It's doesn't matter." Pidge grunted, drawing away from him stubbornly. "Just…it doesn't matter at all."

"Katie."

Pidge stiffened at her real name, sagging in defeat.

"Talk to me. Tell me what's going on." Shiro cupped her cheek gently in his hands, and Pidge let out a choked sob, shaking her head.

"I…I can't…"

"Pidge, why not?"

She seemed to inwardly collapse, sighing in anger. "I didn't want you to think I'm weak. I'm the smallest, it's no joke, and I'm…I never wanted to be considered the weakest too."

"You're-"

"I AM." Pidge stubbornly insisted. "I'm the weakest, we all know it. Don't deny it, Shiro."

Shiro clamped his mouth shut, wanting to deny it very much. But he knew she was right.

She was the smallest.

She was the weakest.

But she was also the smartest.

"You're the smartest, though." Shiro blurted, staring down at her.

"Really?" Pidge sarcastically flashed back. The longer she was awake, the more she began to act normal. "When does brains matter in a battle? I got this because I tried to think in the middle of one." She pulled up her pant leg, pointing. A large scar ran across her ankle, up towards her knee.

Shiro could imagine her bleeding out, but not telling anyone for fear of being shunned. He understood the pain; the arena had taught him much about pain. But even he didn't have quite as much scars as Pidge did.

"Pidge, we'd never discard you for being the weakest-" Shiro began.

"-but you'd all be so stupidly overprotected that I wouldn't be able to do anything." Pidge huffed. "Seriously, Shiro. The only one who wouldn't really care all that much is Keith."

Shiro realized she was right. The entire bunch was amazingly overprotective, except for Keith and probably Krolia, who only really cared about Keith. (For now, at least.)

"May I at least see them." He asked, holding out his hand unsurely.

Pidge stared at him, blinking slowly. "Well…okay. Sure." She put her hand in his and turned it so that the palm was facing up.

Shiro inhaled sharply; the scar on her left palm covered almost the entire surface, it must have hurt a lot when it was bestowed upon her.

"When did you get this?" Shiro asked, caressing the hand softly.

"I was saving the mission." Pidge hissed, glaring at her hand.

"This…this is pretty recent, isn't it?" There was still some skin not quite scarred over; it looked burned, in a way.

"Yeah. It was maybe…a month ago, our time."

Before Shiro was discovered to be fake.

Pidge remembered pulling Kuron after her, fighting back tears of worry as she pushed his hand into the panel, the purple hand sparking to life-

Stop. She scolded herself, shaking her head. Stop. That's just a memory; it doesn't matter anymore.

It was the one scar she didn't have nightmares about, and she certainly wasn't going to put it into her mind and give herself nightmares.

"How did you get it?" Shiro asked, before a memory sparked to mind. He really didn't like remembering Kuron's experiences, but sometimes they were the only way to get answers. "Oh…oh."

Pidge blinked at him, confused. She hadn't even said anything yet. "…what?"

"I'm sorry, Pidge." Shiro said gently, a tiny memory pricking against his mind of Pidge holding back a scream of pain as she held his hand to the scanner. It had come out, instead, as a shudder, a slight whimper pressing its way past her lips. Kuron had heard, and he had seen, but he hadn't cared.

"It's not your fault." Pidge shrugged, turning away from him, shoulders slumping.

"Do you have nightmares about your injuries often?"

"Once…twice a week. Why?" She asked, squinting at him curiously as she pulled on her pajama sleeve.

"Just curious." Shiro shrugged, gazing down at her. "I'm sorry you had to go through so many injuries, Katie."

Pidge wilted at her real name, looking down at her hands.

"It doesn't really matter."

"Yes, it does." Shiro murmured, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"We're soldiers." Pidge protested. "We're supposed to sacrifice for the greater good."

"But we're also a family." Shiro reminded her gently. "We're supposed to take care of each other."

"I just…I don't want to be throw out of that family." Pidge admitted, ducking her head.

"And you won't be. Ohana-"

"Okay, stop it. I don't like Disney references."

"Ah, right. Lance has over milked them."

"Matt and Lance both."

Shiro laughed gently, wrapping his arm tightly around her. She might feel weak, but her will was strong. Shiro knew this, but he could still help. He would stay here and protect her, and he would keep the injuries and nightmares at bay.

For her.


	14. Protective Females

**Most people think the lions are all girls, and, honestly, I love that idea. However, if you're listened to half as many interviews as I have, and know as much about lions as I do, you'll know that there's always a male lion in each pride, and that the Black Lion was originally going to have a mane. Boom. Black's a boy. Also, as GriffTalon pointed out, The Blue and Green ones are the only ones referred to as girls in the show, but as the handbook points out, Keith refers to Red as a girl, while Lance refers to Red as a boy.**

 **So…The four limbs, in my mind, are girls, (even though Yellow has never been referred to as a girl) and Black is a guy. Don't hate on me for my opinions.**

 **GriffTalon suggested;(can't find her exact words) Here's another suggestion for Angst and Bonding; what if you write a book about Pidge having struggles because her lion's the smallest?**

 **Takes place early in season 7.**

* * *

True, the Red Lion was the smallest Lion, the most agile, the fastest.

The Green Lion was a bit bigger with the added decoration of a near worthless shield. Besides, it was less flexible, and couldn't move quite as fast as the Red Lion.

As a stupid bonus, it's Paladin was the smallest as well with weaker bones. It seemed that whenever they got in a fight, Pidge or the Lion were damaged in some way, and given the shortage of quintessence in the power cores, the lion was even more prone to damage. Most of her weapons were not even operational.

Which made Pidge more exposed.

The Black Lion was the strongest.

The Red Lion was the most agile and fast.

The Blue Lion was caring, and she had a strong advantage in battles, being flown by Allura.

The Yellow Lion had extra armor, making him tougher.

The Green Lion was nothing. She was just…there. Her sisters and brother were so special at different things, but it was all she could do to protect her Paladin.

So she watched over her, doing her best to fulfill the one thing she COULD do.

As she had heard the Paladins say and her siblings repeat; "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might."

So she guarded her, sometimes keeping all her sensors on her child, her Paladin. After all, from the day they're born the Lions choose them, sending out a tiny soul to fester inside them, claiming them as their own. Somehow, it keeps away demons from them, causing them to wither away from God's angles, the lions.

The angle of the cosmos was given a physical body, and became the Black Lion. The angle of the core become the Red beast, as so forth.

Green used to purr at the power she held, before she realized that she had to choose a Paladin, a companion to aid her properly. So she choose Trigal, a small, tiny pocket of what she could defend.

The pain as part of her soul was crushed destroyed Green, as Trigal was the first of the Paladins to fall. Her siblings all had felt her grief, had tried to sooth her. But they had learned a valuable lesson. Though it doesn't completely quell the pain, they absorbed their soul from their Paladins, as well as their essence, just as they died. They couldn't risk having such a small fissure of them destroyed.

It took over ten-thousand years for Black, ever protective of his pride, of his Paladin to finally take his piece of soul from Zarkon, then, so soon after, Shiro died, but Black did not allow his soul to be crushed the same way Green's was.

Instead, he held on tightly, absorbing his portion of soul and his former Paladin's essence at the same time. The sorrow of loosing two of his Paladins in less then a week overwhelmed him, and he refused to open up to any for a few weeks. Finally he had given a new section to Keith.

And Voltron rose again.

But Green still was without part of her soul, the price withered and crushed into nothing, gone.

So she made up for it.

She lounged in her Paladin's presence, basking in the small bit of soul she had spared for her Paladin. Never again, no. Never again would her soul be destroyed. Never. Never again.

Yes, it could be damaged, it could be bent, but never broken. Never destroyed.

Unfortunately, Green could never always protect her Paladin's mortal, frail body. But she tried. Oh, she tried.

Pidge felt her lion's sorrow often radiating through the Paladin bond, apologetic.

It hit her like a full tidal wave one day as the controls suddenly locked up while they were flying over a water planet.

Green's exhaustion got the better of her and her quintessence plummeted, bringing her body and her Paladin with her.

As the water drew nearer, Pidge cried out, fighting with the controls as much as she could. "Guys, guys! Something happened with Green, we're-!"

Green crashed into the water, cutting her off and blocking off the coms.

Pidge hit her head on the console board, everything blacking out.

* * *

Consciousness came slowly to Pidge, the memory of the ordeal following it close behind.

"Ow." Pidge grumbled, gazing out of her lion's cockpit into the darkness spreading as far as she could see. She had to be at least fifty miles below sea level.

Pidge felt a jab at the back of her head as she sat up, digging into her skull.

Pidge yanked her helmet off, sighing when she saw the wires sticking out from all ends, the ends blackened and smoking.

"Greaaaat." She mumbled, able to tell within a moment's glance that the com chip couldn't be repaired soon. At least, not without Hunk. Hunk would be able to help her, but he wasn't here.

 _I'm sorry_ …

"Green? What happened?" Pidge asked, rising to her feet at her lion's voice.

 _I lost energy, and now I've trapped us here!_

"Don't worry, girl. The other should be coming for us soon." Pidge stroked the inside of the cockpit, smiling at her lion. "We'll be fine."

 _Maybe…_

"Aw, don't be like that Green. It wasn't your fault."

 _I should have told you that I was running out of energy, though._

"I don't really mind. We'll be fine soon, anyway."

 _But…_

"Relax, Green. We'll be fine. We always are." Pidge stood up from her chair, walking to the medical cabinet.

She found an ice bag and pressed it to her injury, wincing as the frozen water made contact with her skin. "Don't worry, Green." She repeated, still cradling her head. "It'll be fine."

Green hummed in response, trying to reboot her system with what little quintessence she had.

As Pidge headed back to the cockpit, something met her feet, splashing up to her ankles.

Pidge tilted her head, looking down.

Oh Quiznak.

Water from outside was leaking into Green. This was not going well.

Pidge managed, despite slipping a few times, to scramble to the cockpit, staring at the steadily rising water.

"Green, close the cockpit doors!" Pidge exclaimed, climbing on top of

The water was now a foot deep, steadily rising.

 _I tried already!_ Green responded, frantic _. It failed!_

If she was Red, Green thought bitterly, she could simply evaporate the water. If she were one of the two biggest lions, it would take way longer for the water to rise. Besides, their jaws were airtight. If she were Blue, she could keep the water out altogether.

But as it was, all she could do was sit there, watching her Paladin retreat to the pilot seat, crouched on top of it as she watched the water rise. Pidge's helmet's visor had been shattered in the crash as well, leaving her no protection if the water reached her mouth.

"Green? Isn't there anything you can do?" Pidge cried, slamming her hand against the cockpit in frustration.

Green was silent for a moment, finally admitting; _No. I've tried everything. The only hope we have is for the others to rescue us before time's out or for me to miraculously recharge._

Pidge slouched, staring at the water in defeat. The others better come, or she'd wring their necks for not helping.

* * *

"Any luck, Allura?" Keith asked, Black circling the Blue Lion.

"I'm afraid not." Allura sighed, leaving the water behind. "We need to go deeper, but Blue might not be able to handle it."

"Alright." Keith landed on an iceberg, Allura in suit. The other two lions were already waiting, their tails lashing worriedly.

"No luck, sorry." Allura sighed, her lion pausing beside them.

"Does that mean the best we can do it sit here and wait for the power cores to recharge naturally?" Hunk asked, voice tight.

"I'm afraid so." Coran sighed, shaking his head. "There's not much we can do…"

"Hey," Lance said, hesitant. "When Hunk and I crashed on that mermaid planet, Blue was, like, supercharged. Maybe if she waited in the water for a bit, she could recharge, at least a little. I don't think she'll break down if she goes too deep."

"…"

"That's right, right?"

"…it's a possibility." Shiro finally broke the silence, voice thoughtful. "You'll have to move slowly, Allura, just to make sure."

"Of course." Allura agreed, the Blue Lion once again edging towards the water.

It hesitated for a brief moment, as if thinking.

"Lance, won't the Red Lion be able to keep all the water clear of him for a time?"

"I guess, with the fire power. What?" Lance's voice turned slightly flirtatious, the smile obvious even though the coms. "You need an escort?"

"That would be preferable, yes." Allura admitted, surprisingly holding no annoyance in her tone. "Please, Lance?"

Lance stiffened to attention, no longer containing any mirth within. "I'd be happy to accompany you, Princess."

"Thank you, Lance." Allura hummed in relief, and they could practically see her smile.

"No probs, Allura."

"Honestly, I'd feel better with you going with someone, too." Keith admitted, voice quite. "Even if it's Lance."

"Owwie."

"You had that coming."

"Point taken."

"Alright, get Pidge, get back." Keith ordered, a rumble sounding through the lions immediately after. "Yeah, and get Green too."

"Of course. Ready, Lance?"

"You know it."

Both of the lions seemingly did a perfect dive into the water, minimum splashing necessary.

Allura blinked at the darkness surrounding the cockpit, a dim light shining from her lion's eyes that did hardly anything.

"Lance…?" She asked, making sure he was still behind her. She didn't want to be alone, even so close under the surface. She never did like it.

"I'm here, don't worry." Lance's words were solemn, picking up on the seriousness of the situation. "Do you want me to clamp down on your tail so that we don't get lost?" He was genuinely worried about separation, Allura could tell.

"Yes, please do."

There was a slight jerk from behind, and Allura could tell that Lance had latched on.

Blue sent a tremor of readiness down their bond, and Allura released the controls, allowing Blue to take over.

As they got deeper into the water, the more in-control Blue seemed, the wake behind her separate the water into an airless bubble for Red.

Blue led the way with ease, understanding on where each fish lived, on where each tiny bubble would surface.

Blue's eyes grew brighter, lighting up the path better.

Her breath caught in her throat, marveling at the sea creatures milling around them, none of them even taking into consideration the possibility of fleeing. It was like Blue was one of them.

Blue ignored them, however and pressed down further.

Allura could see the wonderful decor of blood surrounding them, beautiful colors standing out against it as fish swam.

"Oh." Allura hummed, smiling softly at the screen.

"Allura? What is it?" Lance asked, sounding slightly worried.

"It's…" Allura remembered with sorrow that Lance couldn't see it because Red wasn't charged up like Blue. It wasn't as nice for him.

"Patching it through."

She sent the view to him, and his breath caught in awe.

"Wow…that's so relaxing. Now do you see why I didn't want to leave Blue?" Red growled defensively to her Paladin's query. "No offense to you, buddy, of course. Who's a good girl? Who's a good girl?"

Allura ignored him, silently rolling her eyes.

Blue suddenly turned position, her jets flaring as she swam faster, diving further underneath the water.

Suddenly she stopped, eyes flashing around uneasily. Finally they settled on a dark shape, looking almost like-

"Lance, stay in your lion."

"Why? What's going on?"

"I can see the Green Lion ahead, it's just a quick swim. I'll go get Pidge, and we can leave."

"Great! I'll be here."

Allura exited the Blue Lion, her jetpack flaring, casing bubble to begin to rise up to the surface.

It brought her to the mouth of the Green Lion.

Allura swam inside the mouth, surprised by the water level. It was nearly to the ceiling. Maybe Pidge was in a sealed off room?

Allura peddled towards the cockpit, worry creasing her brow.

The water was still rising, slowly but surely.

Now everything was becoming black, so Allura activated the flashlight on her gauntlet.

She found herself looking at the pilot seat, two familiar legs pushed against the top.

Allura swam up, meeting the exhausted face of Pidge.

Pidge was hunched on top of the pilot seat, the hair atop her head pressed against the ceiling. The water was to her neck.

"Pidge!" Allura swam towards her, smiling in confidence.

Pidge looked at Allura, relief flooding her scared features. "Allura!"

"Are you quite alright?" Allura asked, treading water.

"It's just…too much like the water tube I was trapped in at the Galra prison, you know?"

"I'm impressed that you're not having a panic attack." Allura looked around searching for Pidge's helmet. "Where is your helmet?"

"Broken."

"Oh…" Allura hummed, thought. "How long can you hold your breath?"

"Two minutes, but I need one minute to prepare."

"Make it quick." Allura hummed, looking at the water. "My plan is, if you hold your breath, I'll be able to pull you to the Blue Lion. You'll have to cling to my back, but it'll work."

Pidge didn't respond, too busy taking several deep breaths, trying to avoid the water licking at her cheeks.

Allura waited patiently for her to complete her…'ritual', inhaling deeply.

"Three…two…one…" Allura counted, the water completely covering Pidge's mouth. She grabbed the girl, pulling her onto her back and activating her jetpack.

One dobosh, forty-five ticks and counting.

"Hold on, Pidge." Allura murmured, despite knowing that, now that they were in the water, her voice wouldn't carry clearly.

The Blue Lion was still waiting patiently, her mouth agape to catch them.

Allura pulled Pidge inside, asking the Blue Lion gently to pick up Green.

"Lance, I'm back, and I have Pidge. The Green Lion was nearly flooded when I got in…I got her in just the nick of time."

"Oh, that's a relief! Can she hear me?"

"I'm here, Lance." Pidge smiled, sitting down heavily, using the towel Allura had bestowed upon her to dry herself.

Allura pushed blankets towards Pidge, helping her begin to undress to fit into something a bit…warmer. (Allura's nightgown. After all, every one of Pidge's clothing was in the Green Lion, and every bit was probably soaked. And who cared if Allura's gown was twice her size?) Allura ignored the scars criss-crossing Pidge's skin, focusing on the task at hand.

Blue was already most of the way to the surface, nearing the top quickly. Allura hardly had time to grasp the controls before Blue shot from the water, immediately loosing the excess power she had received while in the water.

Red was close behind, still operational, and not low on power because, thanks to Blue, he hadn't needed to use his special power.

"Guys!" The voices of everyone else, who were waiting, sounding over the coms.

"Did you get her?" Krolia asked, voice bland. Allura couldn't tell if she didn't care, or if she was genuinely worried.

"Yes, I did." Allura dropped the Green Lion, the water spilling out from between Green's jaws.

"Oh my goodness!" Hunk gapped, worry in his voice. "Is it even possible for the lions to hold that much water?"

"What in the world?!" Keith snarled.

"You got her out in time, right?" Shiro inquired, a nervous edge to his words.

"Of course."

"I'm fine!" Pidge pipped up, still wrapped in blankets. "Just a little cold."

There was a collective sign of reliefs at her words, and then everyone began to talk at once, asking question, letting out gasps of relief, and other exclamations.

Allura made her way over to Pidge, wrapping her arm around her as she temporarily silenced the coms.

"Thanks for taking care of me, Allura." Pidge murmured, closing her eyes. "I know it can't be easy."

"No worries." Allura hummed, smiling at the fragile human. "I'd do it all again, you know."

"That's what makes us like sisters." Pidge grinned gently, shaking her head. "We care for each other."

"Yes, I…I suppose it does." Allura swallowed, gazing at the tiny Paladin. Yes, sometimes she could be annoying, but, at the end of the day, they were family, and that was that.

* * *

 **Author's Notes; i'm not taking any more suggestions for Angst and Bonding. Only one more chapter and I'll be done.**

 **Family Through The Trials will be coming soon to s website near you!**


	15. Family Through The Trials -FINALE!-

The scream priced the quiet hospital room, though it wasn't an unfamiliar sound for the young man perched on the edge of the bed.

His younger sister - a young woman, now - sat straight up, panting with sweat and tears flowing from her face.

Pidge choked as her brother, Matt, hugged her, weeping into his shirt.

It had been like this for the past week, ever since she had first woken up from the latest Robeast, if one could even call it that.

"Pidge…" Matt cooed, rocking her. "You're safe, there's no need to cry…"

"Where's Keith?" Pidge whimpered, pounding her fist against his chest. "And Lance? I want to see Allura, and Hunk, and…and Shiro… I haven't seen them…are they alive?!"

Matt held back a sigh. This also happened every night.

He knew it wasn't native to Pidge; he had heard the staff mentioning that night terrors and nightmares were common grounds to people who had spent time with each other for even mere weeks and didn't see each other immediately. So all the Paladins, who had lived together for five years, two years their time, were experiencing the trauma.

The hospital staff had decided to pair them up if it got much worse.

Meanwhile, the level of stress remained the same and the Paladins were beginning to fear that the staff and their families were only lying to them about the lives of the other Paladins to spare their feelings.

Shiro had made a full recovery within a couple days, but hadn't found time to visit the others, and woke up with spiked adrenaline as well.

Matt was getting annoyed with the lack of comfort the nurses and doctors provided.

Filling in the void of pain Pidge had, he murmured "they're fine, Katie. They're alive. They're recovering themselves; you don't want them to injure themselves further them coming to see you, right?"

Pidge weakly nodded, touching the IVs and monitors jabbed in her arm. "Are they as bad as me?" She asked, touching her stomach, which had been overfilled with blood hardly six days earlier. The stitches still had not healed, and remained jagged.

Matt couldn't help but be pleased; while she had woken up a few times each day since she had gotten injured, and had been able to talk, she hadn't been very coherent.

"Allura's weird alchemy powers healed most of her wounds within the first couple days, she's mostly on bed rest for, well, rest." Matt began soothingly, rubbing her back. "Lance's spinal cord got slightly broken in the battle, and he's lost movement and feeling in his legs and just feeling in his arms, despite still being able to move them. Keith woke up yesterday for about seven minutes before falling asleep again; his concussion's really messing him up. Hunk also had a concussion, but he's awake most of the time. Shiro's going to make a speech tomorrow before trying to visit you guys, and perhaps you can watch his announcement on the television."

Pidge took a shaky breath, sighing gently. "What did you first do when we disappeared?"

"Well, I didn't know anything had even happened for a couple of days. The rebels acted really awkward during that time, trying to avoid me, but when I saw Olia, she immediately told me everything, horrified that nobody had told me."

Pidge chuckled weakly into his chest, shifting her position.

"She accompanied me to the last know place you were at, but there was nothing. We searched for three days before deciding that maybe, just maybe, you had made it to a different part of space. Everywhere we looked, we asked around, but…after two years we began to doubt."

Three years we began to turn our backs on the faintest bit of hope…and then Dad called. And it was like the sun came out."

"That's what it was like when I was looking for you." Pidge smiled, turning on her side so that she could rest against her brother while looking at the hospital room. "Wha' time is it?"

"Um…four a.m.…"

"It's late…" Pidge blinked, surprised.

"Yeah…visitor hours are beginning."

"Mom?" Pidge inquired. "Dad? Your girlfriend?" She teased, nudging his arm.

"Jonnra. But, yes, she might come. Maybe Nyma and Beezer, too. How's that sound?"

"Rolo?"

"Um…" Matt didn't really want to tell her that Rolo had met a very…haunting death. "Perhaps."

"Shiro?" Pidge pondered, looking at him.

"Maybe tomorrow." Matt smiled, looking down at her. "Mom'll be sleeping in here with you tonight instead of me, m'kay?"

"'Kay." Pidge nodded slowly, thinking.

The door buzzed open, their parents entering with Jonnra in tow.

"Katie!" Their mother said with enthusiasm, throwing her arms around her daughter and pulling her away from Matt. "How are you?"

"Tired…" Pidge didn't mention that she was also quite lonely, missing her friends - no, family - a lot.

"I'll bet." Sam said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Blood loss does that."

Pidge smiled slightly, though she still grabbed at her abdomen. Matt wondered if it hurt. "I miss Hunk and 'llura, Lance and Keith. Can I see them?"

Her father's mouth twitched slightly, struggling to keep a smile on his face. "No, Katie, not for a few more weeks, at least."

Pidge pouted, looking at her hands.

"Matt." Iverson appeared in the doorway, looking at the young man. "Can I have you for a moment?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure." Matt was hesitant to leave his sister, but he did so nonetheless. "What's up?"

"The hospital staff is worried. And, honestly, I am too." Iverson frowned, looking at him. "The Paladins have been acting very…negativity towards they families, behaving almost as if they would rather they be replaced by each other. It isn't natural for people to get along that well with each other, except when they're married. But that isn't the case. We were going to survey the lions to check for any possible virus that could have effected the way they think, and we-"

"Let me stop you there, Mitch." Matt hardly gave it a second thought that he just called his senior by his first name. "The Paladins have, over the past several years, become closer with each other then ever. Yes, it appears unnatural for them to be so close, but it's…spiritual, in a way. They have a mental connection to their lions and their lions have a link to each other. The Paladins, in this way, are also tied to each other."

"Okay." Iverson prompted, trying to process it all.

"They're basically each a fifth of a whole. The MFEs, not sure if you've noticed, behave in much the same way. There is that occasional booster in a flock where a group gets closer then seems possible, and the Paladins are part of one of those herds. It's part of the reason they're so good at working together."

"Hmm." Iverson nodded slowly, still a bit confused. "I still think it's strange."

"No offense, sir, but I have seen the way they interact with each other more frequently then you have. I've been there when one of them gets hurt on a mission. They're like birds, never leaving each other alone and clustered around the injured one. Then, after a successful mission, they don't just go to their rooms to sleep, they immediately go into the lounge or bridge to debrief. Sometimes they end up getting from serious to absurd things."

Mitch pondered this, looking through the open doorway at the smallest Paladin. "What you've said makes sense, Matt. Are you sure, though? We can still run a test on the lions…"

"I'm positive." Matt grinned lopsidedly, nodding at the commanding officer. "I do, however, want to point out that they will probably recover more quickly if they're allowed to see each other. So…"

Iverson stroked his chin, frowning. "Well…we'll have to break some rules…"

"So that's a yes?" Matt smiled, trying to battle off a chuckle.

"Wait, that's not what I said…" Iverson interrupted. "It's…" he sighed deeply, shaking his head. "It's a yes."

Pidge seemed to sense what they were talking about, raising her eyes from the covers on her bed and looking at Matt.

Yes, she had been through so much pain, so much angst, but it didn't matter, because what hurt her bonded her to her family, space and blood.


End file.
